QUILT FOR BABY GIRL..

...is finished.  Lying on the table while it dries after a gentle wash.

QUILT FOR BABY GIRL

Top finished!  Time to sit down and quilt.

BACKING FOR PROVENCE STAR

Don't ya just love it?

QUILT FOR A BABY GIRL

Began this quilt last week by sewing lots of five inch squares together alternating each square with a white square.  Once that was done, I put a white border all around.  Then...took the scissors to the lot and with the help of a four inch template, cut them all up to form these squares which, when put together form lots of windmills.  Pretty tricky n'est pas?

Shall post when top completed in next day or so.

QUILTING AT ROBYN'S

Gone to lunch!

PROVENCE STAR

Borders on and ready to baste.

PROVENCE STAR AND A SONG FOR SUNDAY

One of my 'quilting' fingers became infected about ten days ago, so I spent this week at my sewing maching making this quilt.  Isn't it gorgeous?  I sewed the red and blue borders on yesterday and will take a photograph today.  Going to make the binding today and next Friday, baste it at Robyn's all ready for quilting.

Song for Sunday

When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray this is what he taught them. 

WEDNESDAY QUILTING

We have been meeting at Kerrie's for over fifteen years.  Here's what Leona's working on...and this,

and these...

Val...

  

This is going to be super gorgeous.  These 'strips' with all her 'blue' work will make up a super, duper quilt.

and Kerrie J....

English paper pieceing in Civil War materials...

Dear Robyn continues working on her latest Crazy....

Kerrie K on her applique

and...dear Lynne is making this for her new sewing room...

And let's not forget moi...

Nearly finished off an old project from long, long ago.  A wee angel in need of some eyes!

SUNDAY SEWING AND...

...thinking about this quote from Brennan Manning's book ABBA'S CHILD.

"...And there have been times...
when the felt presence of God was more real to me
than the chair I am sitting on;
    when the Word ricocheted like broken-backed
lightning in every corner of my soul;
   when a storm of desire carried me to places I had
never visited.
   And there have been other times...
   when I identified with the words of Mae West:  "I
used to be Snow White - but I drifted";
   when the Word was as stale as old ice cream and
as bland as tame sausage;
   when the fire in my belly flickered and died;
   when I mistook dried-up enthusiasm for gray-haired
wisdom;
   when I dismissed youthful idealism as mere
naivete;
   when I preferred cheap slivers of glass to the pearl
of great price.

If you relate to any of these experiences, you might want to browse through this book and pause to reclaim your core identity as Abba's Child."

NEVERTHELESS

nevertheless

adverb

in spite of that;  notwithstanding;  all the same

Last blog on Paul Kalanithi's book WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR.  Here he discusses his thoughts on belief in God and Christianity.

"The favorite quote of many an atheist, from the Nobel Prize-winning French biologist Jacques Monod...

'The ancient covenant is in pieces;  man at last knows that he is alone in the unfeeling immensity of the universe, out of which he emerged only by chance.'

Yet I returned to the central values of Christianity - sacrifice, redemption, forgiveness - because I found them so compelling.  There is a tension in the Bible between justice and mercy, between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  And the New Testament says you can never be good enough: goodness is the thing, and you can never live up to it.  The main message of Jesus, I believed, is that mercy trumps justice every time.

Not only that, but maybe the basic message of original sin isn't "Feel guilty all the time." Maybe it is more along these lines:  "We all have a notion of what it means to be good, and we can't live up to it all the time."  Maybe that's what the message of the New Testament is, after all.  Even if you have a notion as well defined as Leviticus, you can't live that way.  It's not just impossible, it's insane."

And that is the message of the Bible.  Paul in Romans 7 describes this conundrum beautifully, "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."  And the Good News is that NEVERTHLESS, God loves us.  And that 'love' is a 'love' beyond all definitions.

The beautiful quilt?  Another one of Robyn's - for her grand-daughter.

READING

David went off to return books to the library when I suddenly remembered I had wanted to blog a bit more about Paul Kalanithi from his book WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR.  Quickly hobbled to the telephone and left David a slow message which I was assured by the recording would be relayed to him as a text.  "Bring   back    the   Doctor   book!"  And brought it back he did.

My little torn paper bookmarks were still in the book so here's the first one.  I'll do the other one another day.

His wife writing the poscript to the book.

"I expected to feel only empty and heartbroken after Paul died.  It never occurred to me that you could love someone the same way after he was gone, that I would continue to feel such love and gratitude alongside the terrible sorrow, the grief so heavy that at times I shiver and moan under the weight of it.  Paul is gone, and I miss him acutely nearly every moment, but I somehow feel I'm still taking part in the life we created together.  "Bereavement is not the truncation of married love," C.S. Lewis wrote, "but one of its regular phases - like the honeymoon.  What we want is to live our marriage well and faithfully through that phase too."  Caring for our daughter, nurturing relationships with family, publishing this book, pursuing meaningful work, visiting Paul's grave, grieving and honoring him, persisting...my love goes on - lives on - in a way I'd never expected."

And the beautiful quilt above?  It's me reading with dear old Dougal beside me.  The little girl, bottom left is my earliest memory, standing at the gate telling everyone who passed that I was going to start school soon, Scottish background top left. Summerfield barn and red bench which we scattered everywhere we lived after a visit to Switzerland, Glasgow University where I started and didn't finish an MA - but developed a strong interest in Scottish Literature and Economic History, the beautiful MacIntosh chair made by David, the roses he has given me, each of the past forty seven years, the gum tree, symbolizing my new home which I love and the bluebird representing David, always at my shoulder and always full of love.

And the quilter?  My dear friend Robyn who is, at this time travelling the same road as Paul's wife.

BROKEN BONE AND CHRISTMAS

I broke a bone in my foot the other day and I'm in plaster up to my knee.  By the sound of everyone's advice I will probably be like this for a few weeks.

"Give me your Christmas quilt Connie, and I'll baste it for you!" said my dear friend Robyn.  Here it is on her basting frame where I am sure that everyone who quilts in this town has at one time or another had their quilt tied to it with Robyn helping baste it with them.

Looking forward to sitting, leg up, and quilting while David runs around at my beck and call!

BEFORE AND AFTER - THE GUEST BEDROOM

Here's the 'before' photograph.  Doesn't look that desperate for a makeover from the photograph but it really did need freshening up.  The beautiful Mackintosh chair that David made has been moved to the small lounge (library!).  David replaced the skirtings from the small half-dowling to a more substantial skirting.  We removed the curtains and he made a timber pelmet for the blind on the front window.  The doors to the verandah, where the curtains are we have left bare. Windows to front - no curtains, just the blind.  The doors aren't clear glass so there's plenty privacy.  David also put up a picture rail to break the walls up a bit.  Ceiling, all paintwork including picture rail, skirtings, architraves, doors are in white and for the walls we have again used the washed out green that we used in our bedroom.

I've move the beds around and put an old desk on the wall beside the doors.  A nice view from the hallway as you pass.  Also pulled up the rug to make the room feel less cluttered.

Not terribly clear but gives you an idea.  Remember, you can click the photographs to enlarge them.

You like my quilts?  Both hand-quilted and hand appliqued.  The first one has been sewn with my machine but hand quilted.  The second one, inspired by my dear friend Robyn Ginn.  Google her and see her amazing work.

I've just recovered from laughing.  A glove suddently appeared outside my window.  David had put it on a long pole and was waving it in front of the window.

Photograph of the next project - the hallway and the bathroom to the right.  Photograph taken looking towards the front door.

And, this one taken from the front door.

Watch this space!

FLANNEL QUILT

Finished this flannel quilt recently.  It's been lying in a box for years as I felt it was a bit small and didn't have much material left that matched to make it bigger.  Anyhoo, dug out what I had and with a bit of playing around, managed to get enough bibs and bobs to put two more rows on the bottom and side.

Took up to Robyn's to tack it for quilting and she suggested tying it, which we proceeded to do.  All that was left for me to do was come home, go through the scraps and get enough to make the binding.

David loves it!  When I'm sitting quilting in the evening, he puts on his beanie and drapes the quilt around his shoulders.  Because I'm covered in a heavy quilt, quilting, I get a bit hot and turn off the heating!

BEDROOM PAINTING

Well, the new bedroom timberwork and painting has been completed.  The quilt on the bed though is still to be finished.  I've been working on this one for years and years.  All the circles, large and small, have been made out of 'scraps' from my material hoard.  Circles are all hand-made and appliqued by hand on to the background.  Now I'm in the process of quilting the three layers together.  Top layer - the circles, middle layer - the batting and bottom layer - the backing of the quilt.  I'm quilting all the seams of the background, the circles themselves and another circle within the circle.  Have decided to really get my head down and get this finished, so the plan is to do a bit each morning.

Have only put up one 'picture' so far, a cross stitch made by Greer.

And especially for those who like reading, I put a few of my very favourite books on the side cupboard specially for the photograph!

Oops!  They're all on top of David's library book!

Remember you can click the photograph to enlarge it!

CHRISTMAS?

Emma bought this as a panel and I've made it into a wee Advent quilt wall-hanging for Christmas. Took it to Robyn's on Friday and she filled all the pockets with sweets which have magically disappeared and reappeared in David's office desk!