Happy Present!

Sometimes when we feel down or sick, we need something to cheer us up. When I was little my mom would get us a happy present when we were sick and stuck on the couch all week.

Last month I won a giveaway hosted by Brenda of The Rusty Thimble. Brenda makes the most wonderful prim items, from pillows and ornies, to dolls and holiday items. This month she is giving away a wonderful americana piece. If you love prim items but don't have the time to make your own, visit Brenda's Etsy Store, she has a lot of wonderful items for sale and she changes her stock regularly and seasonally.

Brenda waited to send my gift and I am glad she did, I was not ready to get a gift but today it arrived and it was perfect timing. I needed a happy present to lift my spirits, it has been a long day and lots of laundry and organizing clothes.

My bunny is so wonderful, I love her looks and clothes and she is a lot bigger than I realized, so she sits beautifully on the shelf with the antique crazy piece. I think she will stay up for the rest of the season and maybe she can be my garden bunny for the summer.

I have also been stitching this week, slowly but I am in no hurry, it keeps my hand and mind busy and it is nice to do something normal when I can. We also went to church with our son and my sweet grand baby, having happy moments with him helps me to get through the tough moments. I appreciate all of your comments and support and I do have future plans that I will work on when I can catch up on sleep and my mind is not so jumbled. I cannot dwell on the pain and the senselessness of it all. I will be starting a new blog in memory of my daughter to help others and for future charity events.

I hope you enjoy my little stitchery, it is a block by Theodore Cleaves and she has graciously offered the whole set for free. I love the designs and they make me happy as I work on them. I may make smaller quilts or a larger one, but for now I just stitch and enjoy the process.

Blessings to you all!

A Gift From the Heart!

One of the things are crafters and artisans, is that we need to create. We need to create when we are happy, and we need to create when we go through sadness and grief.

I wanted to make something as a gift to my daughter from her father and I, a piece of our hearts to hold, until we meet again. I started thinking about it and each day melted into the next, until it was the day before the wake and I had not begun. Too much to do, too much chaos and pain and too many good meaning relatives who had not idea what to do and tired me out.

I had the saying stitched and decided to put it on a velvet heart. I had lots of ideas but no time to add lace or a border, but I finally decided that it was not what it looked like, but the love I put in. I sat in my sewing room that morning and worked on finishing it.

The saying was from our hearts, it was how we felt.
The little heart is a piece from her clothing as a child
The flower, is from the ones I used for her brother's wedding pillow.
The guardian angel is a gift I gave her on her first communion.
I made the saying into a pocket and inside is a photo of the three of us, at her baptism and a smooth white pebble from our beach walks.
On the back, I made hearts from the material that I used for her quilt, a birthday gift for her, our three hearts, forever.

The heart was placed in her arms, to hold, until we meet again.

The back of the pillow.

The night we got home, my house was a mess and we had company coming after the funeral, so Bill and I did what we could to the main living area. I had taken down Easter decorations and had some up, so just left what I had, but the tree looked sad without nothing on it. I found an old flower that I had from a wreath and remembered I had some in a box and this is what I did with them. The photo is a gift from her friends, they had it framed and I put it on the table. It is her final goodbye.

I also wanted to share the card we had made for her. I needed to do things myself, for my daughter, to let her know how much I love her and how much I miss her, so I did a design that they used on the card and the poem below is the saying on the back.

I feel like all of you have been my family and support through all of this and I still have things to do that I am not ready for, but I also have my faith and the love of others, to keep me strong.

Miss Me, But Let Me Go

When I come to the end of the road,

and the sun has set for me.

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little—but not too long,

and not with your head bowed low.

Remember the love that was once shared.

Miss me, but let me go.

For this is a journey we all must take, and each must go alone.

It’s all a part of the master’s plan, a step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart, go to the friends we know.

Bear your sorrow in good deeds. Miss me, but let me go.

Author Unknown

Today We Said Goodbye…….

It has been a long hard week and I know the days to come will be just as hard as we are reminded of our precious loss, but I have also learned that my daughter was not just special to us, but so many people whose lives she touched.

I wanted to thank you all for the wonderful comments and messages, as well as emails, cards and gifts. May God bless each and everyone of you for giving me the strength to get through this week, by filling me with your love and compassion.

I wanted the things for Danielle's funeral to be personal and made by me when possible. I made a photo  to use for the cards and the poem is what was on the backside.

Miss Me, But Let Me Go

When I come to the end of the road,

and the sun has set for me.

I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.

Why cry for a soul set free?

Miss me a little—but not too long,

and not with your head bowed low.

Remember the love that was once shared.

Miss me, but let me go.

For this is a journey we all must take, and each must go alone.

It’s all a part of the master’s plan, a step on the road to home.

When you are lonely and sick of heart, go to the friends we know.

Bear your sorrow in good deeds. Miss me, but let me go.

Author Unknown

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

If Tears Could Build A Stairwell
If tears could build a stairwell
and memories were a lane,
I would walk right up to Heaven
and bring you home again.
No farewell words were spoken,
no time to say good-bye...
You were gone before I knew it,
and only God knows why.
My heart still aches in sadness
and secret tears still flow,
What it means to lose you
no one will ever know.

Our hearts are with you today and always.
May your day be filled with heavenly love and wishes from around the world.

Please join in with us as we all wish her a Happy Birthday and Blessings!

Love Mom and Dad

My Heart is Broken

Danielle St. Germain  April 16 1985 - April 11 1915

If only I could hold my daughter for one more moment and tell her how much I love her.

Rag Quilt: Change of Colors!

I needed to fill in more space on my quilt and I didn't have time to go to the store and I really didn't want to buy more fabric. I had already cut out some blue blocks and sewed some, so I added those to the center, in a random pattern. I also had faded denim already cut, as well as the backings, so I went with those and only had to cut more batting to put those together.

I got all of the rows, sewed together and laid them out on the bed, to make sure I had them in the right order. I still need to sew the rows together, but as you can see, it came in a bit on the sides and it will come in on the length, as well. So, I think I am going to have to go to the store to get some more dark denim. I really think that would make the nicest border, do you?

Another thing I learned while sewing these is that they bunch as you sew the two pieces together and I have been getting a lot of puckers at the end. I did find that putting the denim on the bottom, helps keep the puckers out, but I still got some. Having the rag pre-cut makes it hard to hold the fabric tightly as you sew, I really think I would have preferred to cut after. Now for the fun part, sewing the rows without catching the fringe, so I will have to take my time as I go along. So much for a fast project;)

Help?

I have been working as much as I can on my daughter's quilt and not coming out like I planned. I have learned a few things, one is never use a cutting die for a rag quilt on large quilts. The size ends up less than 7" so a lot more blocks to make one. Also, I have to cut the fabric down in blocks to cut the blocks on the cutter and do that for the front and back of the quilt, so way too much cutting and steps for something that should be quick.

I was going to use light and dark denim and a mix of the reds with blue and greens, but they didn't look right to me and I like the contrast of the dark denim with the reds. I laid them out today and have enough reds and need to make 10 more denim blocks to finish the top, but I still need more on the edge for the over hang. I am thinking of doing just the dark denim but that is a lot of blocks to cut out again. What I would really like to do is strips of denim, but not sure if I can add that to the already cut rag pieces? Has anyone ever used a go die for rag quilts and added a strip border?

This is what I was doing today, laying out the pieces to see how it looked. I won the fabric and got some yards and some half yards so I can't seem to get the red blocks to look right without getting some of the same ones, too close.

So, what do you think? Any ideas of how I can make it look better? After I do the last denims, I will sew them together, and I laid them out so they over lapped, so hopefully it will be the right size, after sewing.

I laid them on my bed, which is a queen size, as hers is, but her mattresses are taller than mine.

It was hard to get a photo since I had to stand on a chair to get this, but here is a close up so you can see a better idea of the actual colors. The denim is darker, so it really looks nice with the red bandana fabric. Her birthday is next thursday so I think I might actually get it done in time.

For the stitching, I am using a variegated denim blue thread.

A Day in the Life!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. My husband needed help getting the new tub/shower for the basement, so he had my son help him and that meant time with Nicholas for me. Of course Bean was excited to have company and spent the day, trying to herd him.

We ended the day with lunch, homemade rice and chicken that his mom makes up for him. We used the day to eat and be silly.

After we drove them home, we stopped at a local park for a short walk. This is a pond that used to be a public beach and picnic area, but now there is no swimming and they closed the campground down, years ago. Such a shame, it was a nice place to take the kids and we need another state park for camping.

There was still snow in some areas and ice on the pond.

The trail goes around the pond, so we started into the woods.

Lots of nice places to stop and enjoy the views and of course Bean had to explore every nook and cranny.

It was cold and windy, but the path narrowed and it was nice walking in the woods. The problem was, the paths got muddy, so we decided we would come back when we had more time and it was dry, then we can go around the whole pond, something I have never done.

On the home front, I have been working on the rag quilt and hopefully I can get more done in the next few days. The kitties are always finding new places to sleep and Izzy thought my easter hat and chicks made a nice pillow.

And then there is Moki and Bean. Bean has been chewing holes underneath my new couches when I wasn't looking. And Moki has decided it is the perfect kitty hideaway to sleep in.  While I was on the floor trying to get a photo of Moki, Bean decided to get in the act.

Friday Finish and Start!

I have been promising my daughter a new quilt for her room, for a few years now, so I thought it was time and her birthday is in a few weeks. She will be 30 this year, and it seems only yesterday that I was 30, lol.

I won fabric from a giveaway by Sheri of A Quilting Life. The fabric is Soho Bandana by Amy Barickman and hosted by Indygo Junction. I wanted to make her a rag quilt and also added denim cottons to the fabrics I won. I am using the main fabrics and saving the whites for the back, as well as yardage with larger prints for matching pillows. I did get a lot of fabric!

I was given a gift certificate by a friend and bought myself a cutting die for the rag blocks and I love how it cuts easily and smoothly, and I don't have to hand cut all those little snips.

This is what I have gotten so far. I think I will start cutting some back material and the batting and start sewing to see how it goes. This will be my first, so hopefully I will not mess it up. I did read that the precuts can get caught in the edge, when sewing, so I will watch for that. Any tips on sewing the rag blocks from the accuquilt die, would be appreciated.

I am going to alternate a dark denim, then a soho block, then a washed denim. This is when I wish I had a program to try the colors out and where to put them. I do have one, but it is a mac versions and it frustrates me too much to use it;)

I also finished the new ornament for the ornament of the month. You can find the new ornament at Attic Heirlooms. They are fun to make and it will be fun to have a set at the end of the year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!