Perspective

It has been a tough week areound here, car bills, found out we need a new furnace, kid broke her cello bow and DH and I quite sick in the midst of it all.

Last night though, I took a meal over to a family here in town. I never met them before, the dad pastors a small church. He has leukemia and has weeks to live. Mom and three young kids all have diabetes, the fourth child has Juvenile rhematoid arthritis. I think I have problems….nothing I am dealing with, even a possible layoff for DH, is anywhere near what they are dealing with and have ahead of them.

I am humbled and amazed at their faith and strength. Such beautiful people.  I am wondering how I can put the emotions I feel into a journal quilt. I don’t know where to begin. And can it even be done? Can a journal quilt hold all of this?

DH is off to the car show for the day with the kids. I am off to ponder things I know I cannot resolve in my own mind. Somehow that doesn’t keep me from trying.

Here is a small quilt I made a while back called Perspective. The quilt has raised tucks with a different color on each side. As it is hung on the wall, the piece looks different depending on the angle you look at it.

Perspective – SOLD

New Ladder Piece Finished

I accomplished just a wee bit artwise over the Christmas break. I just finished this small piece:

Ladders #4 Private Collection

It measures just about 13″ x 14″ or so and is machine quilted with a varigated tan thread. The fabrics are my hand dyes. I had been quilting these pieces within each small section and wasn’t sure I would like an “overall” kind of quilting but I think it works here. In case you were wondering, the pic is taken straight on and your eyes are not going bad, it is not completely square. This is one more small step on my way out of the “need to be perfect and measure everything mold.”

Here is another little bit of my work for the holidays:

These lovely tootsies belong to my three daughters. I made them all socks for Christmas. Not exactly art but it proves I did SOMETHING over the break! I also knit several hats and a couple pair of mittens. I love knitting and wish my hands would let me do more of it. I need to learn continental knitting as it is supposed to be easier on your hands. Someday!

Snowed in!

So here in Michigan we have been hit yet again with blizzard like conditions. Today is a bit better but another strom is on the way. If it interferes with my Pistons game tomorrow night, I am going to be mad!

But today I am thankful. Very thankful. Our furnace quit last night. My dear hubby stayed up all night to keep the fireplace going so we didn’t freeze. I stayed snug as a bug in a rug all night and would never have known we had a problem! Found out this morning that it was a blocked vent. Totally blocked with packed snow from the blizzard. It was an easy fix and I am so thankful we did not have to have someone come out. I am also very thankful for a husband that will stay up all night to keep the family warm. God is good!

I am going out today to stock up on some things and finish some last minute Christmas shopping and then I am going to stay in the rest of the week…..except for the Pistons game tomorrow night. They play the Bulls and we have tickets. I hope the weather cooperates. If not, I will watch on  TV and be thankful for a warm house!

Have you ever?

I shamelessly stole this from Lisa Call just because I thought it was fun! The items in bold are the things I have done so far:

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo (I’m counting in the shower cause not interested in doing it in public)

11. Bungee jumped (very very fun! I want to do it again!)

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelos David

41. Sung karoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury!

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

I have done 47 of these things! Looks like I have some adventure ahead of me .

MySpace

I have had no time to sew so here is an older quilt I call MySpace.

MySpace

Hmmm…..wonder if I can get anything creative done with a three year old around for the morning? I haven’t played with playdough in ages. Think I will look for a recipe .

Uncertainty

I started this piece one day after hearing some rather disconcerting news that caused me to wonder once again what the future would hold. Somehow the starkness of it  and the skewed angles are able to convey exactly how I felt that day. It is a picture of a feeling, one I have felt many times since I have made it. 

So many things are in a state of flux right now in our nation, from Wall Street to Main Street and from the White House to my house.  I don’t know what the future will look like, but the knowledge that the the God of all creation deeply loves and cares for me and my family brings me an unexplainable peace in the midst of it all.