I am still here! I am hand quilting away, among other things, which really doesn't lead to very exciting pictures to put on the ol' blog. I mean, there is very little change to the overall look of the pictures.
These first two shots show "Miss Emilie's Garden" (pattern by Lori Smith) after I basted it in preparation for the hand quilting..,.pretty boring.
The next shots show the quilt after hours of work getting the center twenty-five blocks quilted. See? You can't really tell that much has changed! For you readers, it must be worse than watching paint dry on the house-flipping TV channels!
I leave the basting thread in until all the hand quilting is finished. Removal of all that distracting lavender thread is my delayed gratification reward following the patience and perseverance...and therapy...of each stitch. I am now working on hand quilting the borders. I know, zzzzz...
Actually, with all the current life craziness, it is good to have hand quilting to do! While stitching away, I have earlier seasons of "The Big Bang Theory" in the DVD player. No matter how many times I've heard the episodes, they still make me laugh!
I will go back an put a little more filler quilting in the blocks...I want to "quilt" my initials and the year in one of the blocks. I love seeing antique quilts where the maker has added these details, whether with applique, embroidery, or quilting.
The quilt only measures 42" x 42".
I am also working on the border pattern for the "Baltimore Rhapsody - Symphony" - almost done! That quilt was just in the AQS Lancaster Quilt Show, and is now on it's way to the AQS Paducah Quilt Show.
My little handmade thread catcher has worked out great for collecting the thread tails as I hand quilt away...
It has been another harsh, snowy, cold winter. As the weather started to warm up and melt the accumulated snow, we had a couple of days that looked like everything was covered in a white, shiny, candy coating. It was weird!
The sifting, packing and planning is underway in preparation of the summer move to NW Alabama. Riley's senior year is filled with events and college decisions, and we continue to be involved in my in-laws' rehab and hospice. It is a busy time! My dad's birthday has come and gone and I am still standing...I still miss them terribly, but the debilitating sadness and anger following the accident is subsiding. Life is going on...
Thank you for your thoughts, notes and emails,,,they have been greatly appreciated!
Has anyone ever used PODS for moving? I would love to hear about your experiences.
I have been hand appliqueing on some delightful little 6" blocks using up some reproduction fabrics. They are my "to go" baggie project right now. I will share all that soon!
In stitches,
Teresa :o)
So glad to see your progress. Packing to move is thankless other than you find things you didn't remember having. I've heard Pods is good, but never used them. Your trip will be so long distance and the assurance it gets there is important. Keep the chin up. Chris
ReplyDeletewell your next winter in Alabama shouldn't look like the photos you share from winter in Michigan. You will be warmer - and experiencing all sorts of different weather and growing seasons. yes life goes on - the pain of loosing loved ones differs over time - I lost my mom in October and at first I thought about her all the time, now the sadness has lessen and we joke about memories more with the sadness being there.
ReplyDeleteI always like to see progress on quilts - yes us hand quilters have slower progress but I don't know, my readers seem to be ok with it - although i am working on a lot of different things so do have a variety to post about. I have never used the PODS so don't know how they work but I have heard of them.
Never boring... not at all :)
ReplyDeleteAre you using a hoop or are you hoopless? Such a beautiful quilt!
Glad to hear you are weathering some of the "firsts"... it's agony I know, but you have your quilt therapy to help a little. Hugs
So glad to hear from you!! I'm always amazed at hand quilting and I know that's something I'll likely never attempt again. Life does go on but nobody said it would always be easy. Hugs, dear girl. I'm looking forward to you living closer.
ReplyDeleteI'm always happy to see handquilting update pictures - your stitches are lovely and add so much to your beautiful top! I can't wait to see what you are appliqueing :0)
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a lot of detail packed into 42" x 42" inches! I love seeing your progress! I lost my mom 14 years ago, and the good memories have taken over the heartbreak of losing her. Take care.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to see your hand quilting. The best therapy ever - for any kind of need. Every day you are making good progress in your life journey. I remember when there was a serious difficulty in my life I was offended if I heard strangers laughing. How could they be happy when I was so sad! Then one day I laughed at something myself and was filled with hope that things were getting better. Never forgetting, just coping.
ReplyDeleteJust stunning.Have fun!
ReplyDeleteIf you use pods or any similar company, make sure you get all the paperwork and receipts first. I talked to someone who lost everything, probably through a scam. I think it must have been a company pretending to be the famous PODS company. You have lots going on yet still manage to generate amazing beauty. Best wishes in all your endeavors.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to receive your post with an update on you, your family, and your quilt. I imagine each day brings new challenges but also gratitude when you see something which reminds you of your dad. I have found healing by talking with others who knew the person, sometimes by asking a question to learn more about my loved one, or answering a question and sharing my memories. Keep taking stitches and steps.
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous. Wonderful work.
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly new to your blog so this is my first post - I just had to say how beautiful this quilt is and loved seeing all your photos of all your hard work. It's not something I would want to do but I can really appreciate all the stitching that you must have put into creating this masterpiece. Hope your weather warms up soon and the snow is soon gone.
ReplyDeleteQuilting is such good therapy for the valleys in our lives and those firsts are so very hard! Your quilt is coming along and looking beautiful. Moving is it's own special hell and packing up is such a pain. We looked into PODS when my daughter was moving from Tampa, Florida to Port Angeles, Washington - it was super expensive! It was 1/3-1/4 the price of the PODS for her to drive the moving van across the country towing her car and me to drive my truck towing a little trailer of her stuff following her. Do take pictures of all your stuff no matter how you get it to the new place - makes it really easy to prove what you had and what its condition is when it is placed on the truck and what it looks like at the end of the trip. You also then have a great record for insurance purposes since you are moving into tornado country.
ReplyDeleteThought of you the other day and wondered how the move plans were coming. Alabama will welcome you.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you are getting some stitching done!! It is hard to go through the first birthdays and holidays without my parents, but it is getting better. You are headed into another year with lots of changes. It is really weird when your kids go to college. You are happy for them, but you miss the little things after having them around for so many years. She will love college. I had boys, so not much communication!! Good Luck on the move.
ReplyDeleteNEVER boring! So pretty!
ReplyDeleteSo happy to see your post! I LOVE watching YOUR paint dry! Your work is stunning. Good luck at Paducah. And happy quilting. I do hope it helps you carry on!
ReplyDeleteMiss Emilie is looking great. I'm planning on being in Paducah for the show. Can't wait to see your quilt in person.
ReplyDeleteMiss Emillie is beautiful. It is good to learn that you are moving forward with your plans. Understandable about missing your parent and bittersweet for caring for aging parents. We get through day-by-day. I found Pods to be expensive. Personally, it was more economical and convenient to rent storage space. We put items in our rented space at our convenience over a few weeks/months. Then the movers brought the items to our new location. May I suggest obtaining quotes on doing it both ways. Glad you have therapy time. Keep us posted when you can.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful. It is amazing how the pictures make it look like a big quilt. You are going to have another winner.
ReplyDeleteIt is gorgeous! I would like do it too :-)
ReplyDeleteYou amaze me! I had no idea it was that small. It looks huge! Isn't it good that we find our own little areas of making that give us peace.
ReplyDeleteGrief, I've found, doesn't just go away. It leaves for a while, but it comes back in waves. You just have to survive and wait for the waves to get smaller. Praying for you.
Teresa, I am so glad that you are still working and sharing. I am relatively new to your post and you have encouraged me to go back to quilting after making designer pincushions for several years (daring not to try anything bigger). I cite you in my blog as being my inspiration along with Bonnie K. Hunter!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe either that your quilt is 42" x 42". It is simply amazing and I too love to see what you call "boring"...quilting takes so much time! I am another that has taken a medical retirement and moved into "creative therapy". It really does keep me going! Thank you again for sharing your talents and ways of organizing, and your personal life as well...Bless you! Jane McMillen (AKA Little House Home Arts)
I can't believe how fast you whip up applique quilts! Do you ever sleep? Congratulations on another beautiful quilt to add to your collection. You truly are an inspiration :o)
ReplyDeleteTeresa, the pictures might look boring to you, but they are SO HELPFUL to me! I really appreciate being able to see how you baste an applique quilt for hand quilting -- how big the stitches are, how far apart you space the lines. And every block is so beautiful that I could look at them all day. Paint drying, indeed! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, we used PODS for our last move about 7 years ago. My husband opted that route to save money over professional movers... but that meant we had to do all the packing, lifting, carrying, and unpacking ourselves. And we had no one to blame but ourselves for the furniture that got dinged up or the dishes that were broken because we didn't pack them as well as professionals would have. It also really dragged out the packing and moving process because we packed and filled one pod at a time over a period of three weeks while our house slowly emptied out and it became harder and harder to live in the house as more and more of our stuff was packed up and gone. But if you don't have as much stuff as we did (for a 5000 SF home) and you are more experienced at packing fragile items, it could be a great way to save costs.
Colette at What about Rheema told me I needed to check out your beautiful work. Wow! You really are amazing with this gorgeous quilt!
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