Be Forgiving

So how has your week gone?   Mine has been crazy as usual, but throughout the week I have been stitchin on my Be Forgiving block.  I finished it, but this block has really caused me some sleepless nights this week. What exactly does it mean to "forgive."  I have some people in my life that have betrayed me, treated me unfairly - as we all have.  I really don't hold any bitterness against them as I learned long ago that bitterness only makes us miserable, doesn't really do anything to the person that did the "dirty" deed.  I no longer trust these people or want anything to do with them....does that mean I have not forgiven them? I honestly wish them no ill will, but I have no desire to ever associate with them again. Can you ever truely forget the wrong that was done? Can you forgive someone, but still not trust them, be wary of even being around them?  What do you  all think - do you struggle with this too?

On the home front, I have been working on a screen that my father made for me a few years ago.  I never got around to painting it, although I did use it for awhile.  I had put fabric on it, but when a friend needed the fabric for a quilt she was working on, and could not find it anywhere..I just ripped it off and gave it to her, thinking it was time for a change anyway.  This screen will be the perfect "blind" for my laundry room so that when my company is sitting in my dining room they can not see the storage area in my laundry area.  Stay tuned...next week I hope to have a picture of the finished screen.

Oh..and btw, the table in the background was also made by my Dad.  A lucky girl I am!

Hope you all have a wonderful week and I will see you in the blogs!

Teresa
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Some gifts, some sewing, and a lot of napping..

I have been rather ill this week with strep throat - which as many of you know is no fun. My doctor said he was going to give me something to help me rest, and boy did it ever. I think I napped the entire week away - so sad as this is Spring Break at the University I work for, and I had Thursday and Friday off. So, I slept through Monday - Thursday, tried to work on Friday, went in and came home before lunch and went back to bed. I am much better today, and have only had one nap, which I would probably have taken on the rainy Sunday afternoon anyway.

I have been working on a few gifts over this past few weeks and thought I would show those to you, since very little quilting has been getting done.

First is a travel case that I made for each member in my quilt club. I use mine to store my paper piecing supplies and it is so nice to have them all in one place. I have included a picture of the pattern. The one you see is mine and while it is fully stocked, the ones I gave had a few items in them, but not full like mine. This gift was actually an incentive for a project we will start next month in the club.

The next is called a "Girls Day Out" bag and I am ashamed to say I can not find the pattern, but you can see it here. I made these for my three friends (and me) that went to the Mid Atlantic Quilt Show together.

They were fun to make and so useful at the show, allowing us to keep both hands free to fondle the fabrics and examine all the goodies the vendors had to offer while also having our money and plastic close at hand. I added the back pocket so we would have some place to put our cell phones.

My Winthrop quilting buddies and I have started another exchange that begins in April, in which we make a gift for one of the ladies in the group (there are 5 of us) and share the pattern with all the members. Of couse we are looking for free patterns on the internet or designing our own, since we will be sharing the patterns. Here is a sneak peek at my offering for April - but just a peek. I can not show it yet since I have to wait until April to "gift" it. Some of you may recognize it though, as it was all over the blogs last year.

I have done a little sewing on my Be Attitudes quilt blocks, completing the Be Smart block and starting the Be Forgiving block.

Hope you are all staying well and getting ready for Spring. Prayers going out for the folks in ND and MN dealing with the floods. God save us from ourselves and all that is going on in Washington!

Teresa

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Show and Tell

Its been a few days since I last posted, but I have been so busy working in the house and having fun at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show. I have a ton of pictures I could show, but I will limit it to just the 11 that I am showing here. Now now, remember I just post once a week (or even longer) so bear with me, please. Be sure to go to the end....I saved the best for last!!!

I will only show one quilt from the show - my favorite. Unfortunately I did not think to capture the identify of the quilter and I feel really bad about that. So if anyone knows the creator of this amazing quilt, just let me know and I will add it to the post. I have a picture of the whole quilt and then a few close ups of some of the blocks. The embellishment work on this quilt was gorgeous.

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Then there were the fabrics and patterns and notions...oh my! I certainly contributed to the stimulus plan! John Flynn was there and I was excited to meet him as I have made his double wedding ring pattern. I came home with one of his quilting frames and I can not way to try it out!

The Friday before the show, my friends and I had an all day workshop at the home of Sara Madson, an expert in Baltimore Album applique. She shared with us history of the Baltimore Album, her designs and her techniques - including back basting applique and a great way of sewing on stems. The little bluebells block is the one we did in the workshop and is one that Ms. Madson drew from an image of an old album quilt. I had to pick up a couple of her patterns as they were just too wonderful to pass up. She also fed us a scrumptious lunch of quiche, salad and fruit and let us enjoy her beautiful home decorated with lovely quilts, gave us a sneak peek of an amazing work in progress and introduced us to her charming husband. What a great time we had!

Work around the house has also been keepin me busy - with an upgrade to the dining room - including new seat covers for the chairs, new curtains and hanging a quilt hand pieced and quilted by my husband's grandmother - at least 40 years ago, maybe longer. (Fred, Ellen and Joy did the painting for me of dining room and living room and new flooring installed.)

And last, but not least, this Granny has been busy baby sitting (oh, did I mention I also work full time?). I have had the joy of babysitting my three boys (Levi, Malachi and Elijah) one evening - forgot to get a picture, but I will be there again this week and will get one then, and then Friday night, it was Taralyn's turn to spend time with Granny. Does it get any better than this?

So, what's been keeping you busy these days?

Teresa

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