2 New Firsts

Today we attended the Kennett Square Mushroom Festival. It was our granddaughter Scout's 1st parade to see & our son Chase's 1st parade to march in with the high school band. It was a great time. We walked around the Festival afterwards. It sprinkled rain off & on. Scout was singing on my shoulder as we headed back to our cars. When we got home, I told her it was like she was "Singin' in the Rain!" and I sung that song to her. She loves music & she just grinned as I sung to her (I'm sure that will change as she gets older!) Scout & I are going to have to watch some musicals on our days together.

It's Finished!

I just finished one of the most challenging projects I've ever undertaken. Cool that I finished it on 9-9-09! It is called a Professional Tote by The Creative Thimble. It is the diaper bag for my daughter & granddaughter, Tiffany & Scout. I will try to post a picture soon. It turned out beautifully! I am so pleased with the outcome. Thank you mother & grandmother for passing on sewing genes to me. I love being creative.

Last "First Day" of School

Well.....that day finally came. Today was my last "First Day" of school. Our son is a Senior this year. He even let me take a picture of him in the house before he left. I was surprised he said yes when I jokingly asked him. I didn't hesitate to get my camera though when he said it was ok. Thank you for giving your Mom that last tender moment of history on my camera. I wish you all the best this year. I'm proud of the young man you are becoming. I look forward to watching you as you accomplish all you set your heart to this year. Today was a sad "happy" day. I am ready to be done with the high school scene. Lord, let me remember to enjoy these moments & not wish them away. Thank you for our children.

Comfort Clothes

I'm sadly realizing that today may be the day I finally have to say goodbye to some of my favorite clothes. You see, I've probably had these particular clothes longer than a lot of people have been married. First up, is my navy blue checkered pair of shorts. They are SO comfortable, are very decent in length, match so much and, best of all, they have wonderful, deep pockets. I love pockets! I knew they were getting worn around the waistband, but nobody sees that but me. Then today, I realized there is NO give to the elastic anymore. It has all give out! Such a sad day. I don't really remember the day I bought the shorts, but I know they came from a Liz Claiborne Outlet and at the time I thought they were expensive. My only justification was that they would go with everything. Man, have I gotten my money's worth out of them! I don't really remember the last time I was at a Liz Claiborne Outlet, but these are probably older than some of my kids.

The other garment is my navy blue cotton sweater. I wear it all the time when I get cold in my sewing room. It's just heavy enough to take off the chill until the next hot flash hits and I remove it and put it on my chair again. The sweater is NOT as old as the shorts, but I knew when I bought it that I really liked it. My only solace to this sweater is that I have a tan one just like it that is not in as bad shape yet.

I know I will be on the lookout for my next comfort clothes to replace these.

I'm actually sitting here wondering what I can make out of the scraps (good parts with no holes) of these two garments. I can at least save the buttons from the sweater for my button box.

Grandma's Baby Girl

Today is the 3rd day of watching my Granddaughter Scout. Her Mama went back to work part-time on Monday and we are becoming good buddies. We are settling into a routine. She does fine, but the last two days when she's heard her Mama's voice, she put that bottom lip out into the biggest pout (She has this move down to an art!) and she started to cry the biggest cry. I'm not sure if she was sad to realize Mama had been gone for a long time, she was happy to see her and just didn't know how to express herself, or what. She settled right in with her Mama as soon as she took her and started talking to her.

She must be growing because she is taking a good nap right now. Yesterday, we went to Jazzercise! She loves music. She is such a joy.

Got to teach her how to help Grandma make quilt kits.

Patterns for Sale

The official copies of the pattern arrived last Saturday as we were on our way to Mare's Bears Quilt Shop to buy fabric to start cutting kits for the Spirals (tm) for the Chase's Quilt Pattern. So exciting to receive them. Dalen added them to his website and one was sold almost immediately! That is so exciting for us. We spent the evening folding & stuffing patterns into bags for sale. I have lots of fabric to start cutting into kits. I have ordered ribbon to tie around the Spirals (tm). Hopefully, I will learn how to post pictures once I have a kit completely together. Stay tuned for updates....

My 1st Pattern

Take a deep breath......okay......I'm starting to feel the pressure lift from my shoulders. Dalen's book Just A Quilt? was supposed to be his baby and I was just to cheer him on from the sidelines. I was happy with that arrangement. But.....I have been brought right into the middle of this "baby" big time. Whenever Dalen has been invited to speak or do a book signing, the question always comes up, "Is there a pattern for Chase's quilt in the book? Have you thought of doing a pattern & a kit to go along with the book?" My answer was always, "No." It's kind of like how many times do you have to be asked to do something before you realize people are serious? (Somehow I keep seeing these visions of hearing myself asking my kids to do something for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th....umpteenth time. It's kind of funny to think that here I am having the same response I have received from them over the years.) There is a genuine interest here and you might want to think about developing these ideas.

So....I took the hint and bought fabrics at Mare's Bears in Lewes, DE, when Dalen was there for a book signing and decided to give it a try. I started sketching designs on the way home. FYI, I don't usually read or write in the car while traveling. The 2 hour trip went very fast because I was trying to get down the ideas flying through my head.

When I got home & into my sewing room, I started working on the quilt top and sat with my computer by my side & tried to write down each step as I did it. I wanted to be sure I covered all the steps and that someone choosing my pattern for their first quilt would be able to follow the instructions, not get discouraged & would emerge from the experience with a quilt they would be proud of & that they would want to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of quilting. I want to leave new quilters wherever I go. It has always been my firm belief that if you are frustrated with the sewing, the instructions, the process of the project or your equipment then this will probably only be a one-shot deal & you may not even finish the project. I want to turn people on to quilting - not off.

I gave Dalen my instructions & told him that it was a beginning, but there were several aspects of the pattern that I was not happy with because I felt they were confusing. He took my attempt & he did some great editing & I loved what he came up with. All of a sudden, I caught the excitement & I realized that I was happy to have "given birth" to this pattern. I printed off a couple of copies to show to friends & see what they thought. Dalen took the file today & brought home 10 copies. It looks so official! I can't believe it. I showed it to Tif & she gave me good critique of how to improve a few areas. I value all input here because I feel I am in such unchartered territory for me.

Today the ladies I had breakfast with from the Bible Study I attend were excited, encouraging, wanted to purchase it, want me to teach them how to make the quilt in a class, want to purchase kits to make the quilt, want to know where to buy Dalen's book, etc. I am humbled by the response I received! Thank you to all of you wonderful ladies for being such an encouragement to me. You are wonderful friends to me. Help me to be a better person.

Now I have to start on the next pattern. It will be printed panels of the artwork in the book incorporated into a different pattern. I already have it sketched out.

Even if the pattern is only embraced by a small number of quilters, I'm thankful for the experience of being encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and try my hand at writing a quilting pattern. It's out there now. May God use this to His glory!