Diaper Stacker al la Butterflies

I had been wanting to make a diaper stacker for my sister, but hand't actually set my nose to the grindstone. After all when you have a list of things that needs doing, items not on the list rarely get done.  But all that aside I did find time yesterday afternoon to make this.  The directions I found said it took the person half an hour.  Well clearly I wanted more than they did, so mine has piping and a gathered ruffle as well as the butterfly and dragon fly patches.  It was worth all the extra work of that I'm certain, but it took all afternoon, half an hour - right would have be nice.  Anyway inside is a sleeve and within the sleeve is a piece of my old hand-me-down cutting mat that had split.  That holds it open so no need for a bent piece of cardboard like my stacker had.  What do you think, to much?  Just right?

Foto Finish: Feet

I nearly forgot about Cat Patches Foto Finish, yesterday's theme was feet.  So after going back to my old pictures, I found this one that I'm certain I've never shared. These were my daughter's shoes before before the days that she could walk.  My momma always told me that if children can't walk there is no sense trying to keep shoes on their feet so don't even bother buying them.  She always felt it was better to invest in quality baby socks that stayed on instead of being worried over loosing shoes and I saw the logic in that. So I didn't buy any of these shoes. Instead they came to me as hand me downs from friends and family.  As you can see most of them have never been worn and many still had stickers on them.  When DD outgrew the possibility of wearing them I happily donated them all to Hospice and sent them all paired together off for frugal Grandma's to pick through and gush over.

Finally Finished

I finished adding the binding to the final baby clothes quilt.  This ended up being the 3rd of 3 that I kept for DD.  The others are a twin, a double, and this one a very generous full/queen.  I made so many others with her baby clothes many of them completely reversible such as this one is.  This feels like an end.  I'm actually glad to see it too.  Knits are such a picky fabric to use in quilts.  While it might be an end to the endless baby clothes quilts it's the beginning of the next chapter and I can finally close the book on everything I started three years ago.  I refused to part with any of DD's baby clothes and stored them away like a squirrel jealously guarding a winter's hoard.

Then my Dear Friend Heather told me about the conception of her son; we didn't know yet that she was having a boy.  That was a great day and I was so happy for her.  I still didn't want to share any of DD's old clothes but I thought, maybe if she was having a boy, which is ironic since some of DD's clothes came from her!  Lucky enough for my heartstrings she was indeed having a boy (who is now in Pre-K!) and that's when I first started allowing myself to pick things out of storage.  In fact Heather got every last stitch of neutral to boy I had.  Oh I did hold one back, you can see it in the heart in the bottom left corner of the above picture.  See the blue with darker blue stripes?  That was a footed sleeper, I bought it because my DH told me he was sure we were having a boy and I believed him.  We have a picture of me with that sleeper draped over my belly laughing.

And all of this got me to thinking.  My mother had quilted, my grandmother had sewn, why couldn't I make a quilt of these clothes?  So I did.  I took what the storage containers claimed to be dear goodness 52 gallons of clothes.  I spent at least two months first cutting out the seams and then stabilizing the knits.  Oh yes that's what I said.  I started with interfacing but that was a real ironing nightmare with all those clothes so I switched to the stabilizer and spray adhesive and then after piecing ripped it out of each quilt before quilting.  It was a real mess.  Yet that's where I started.  By that point I didn't know I'd found a passion that would allow me to explore every pent up bit of myself I'd ever boxed away.

My blog changed as I did.  Instead of just the odd mother who talked about her daughter and only sometimes mentioned any physical limitations.  I found this entirely new quilting world online.  Which is good because I've long since worn out the ear of any loved one that doesn't live with me.  Lucky for me DH and DD are still happy to listen most of the time.  Aren't you glad I still talk about my cats too?

Since I knew how hard it was to part with those darling baby clothes both of my larger baby clothes quilts bear a label proudly honoring the three moms who shared their beloved baby's clothes with me.  The quilting is feathers moving through sashing of the front between every block.  Mostly because I knew I had DD's quilts already tucked safely away, I knew I couldn't ruin anything and I thought it would make good practice.  Then the blocks are quilted with mostly double hearts, though there are some singles and a few triples to represent our family and the three wonderful women who shared more than just clothes.

Mystery Quilter!

Happy belated fourth of July or an even more belated Canada Day.  How about this?  Happy July!  This is a great month.  The heat is sweltering the entire northern hemisphere and we can for once all agree on the weather.  This is the same month my darling daughter was born.  She came a week earlier than her due date the same as I myself did, which was truly wonderful because I was more than a little sick of being pregnant at that point.  All circumstances considered (such as my post pelvic trauma and current disability for those of you non-followers) my most favorite OB-GYN was on vacation through my due date and promised if DD hadn't been born by the time he got back we would have a c-section August 3.  Oh yes please let's plan a big major deal such as having a baby on my Anniversary!  NOT!

Instead I had the most amazing doctor in the history of doctors.  She was trained as a midwife first and then became a doctor - how cool is that!?  I'd seen her in my office visits before then, but didn't see her for the amazing woman she is.

So now that you've had way to much personal information about me.  How about some birthstone trivia July birthdays have Ruby as their birthstone, my second favorite, only to my own Sapphire - which are really the same exact thing.  The only difference is that Rubys are red sapphires.  Hadn't you ever noticed that Sapphire come in every color except true red?  So now it's time for my MYSTERY QUILTER!  Here is an example of her quilting.  Any guesses?

How about Now?

It's DD!

Lady Bird

Lady Bird Mom is on the Left and Baby is on the Right.
Darling little bird. For the past two weeks we have been watching our Lady Bird Mom, Dad, and their little baby bird. It is a joy watching this family as I feel the constutition and fortitue this bird has is a testament to life and one being's will to live. I believe the baby bird is a girl as it is the brownest baby cardinal visiting us. Not a touch of red on her entire body.

Often people who have known me for a little while, long enough they call themselves more than aquantiances, but still haven't known me long say things like "how great I am that I don't let my disability get me down." or that "You're my hero for all that you've done and do." I feel comments are made and are a misinterputation of who I really am. Trust me, mircle that I'm a live or not, I am one person. I do not feel I am a hero. Heroism is deep strength used to the benefit of a person or community. At least that is what it is to me. All I did was live and survive. That is what every other living thing would try to do, yes even my dear sweet handicapped Cardinal, inspite of her missing foot she continues on. Living each day the best she can.

Sometimes our best isn't enough to clean the house, or get to the laundry. But if it is enough to raise our offspring, then it's enough.

The best UFO Ever

This time of the year makes me want to reach back through the curtain of time and pull forward things that are important to me. Perhaps it's the chill in the air. I know that's certainly what did it this time.
This is the quilt my mom started working on when I was little. I have memories of all of her files with fabrics in each one. Every time she would work on her quilt I would beg her to make one for me. So she did. Mine was patchwork animals done on the sewing machine. Backed with my mom's favorite bed sheet when she was a child. Talk about a higher quality of fabrics back then. It has since been through me and then my youngest sister, who somewhere along the way decided it was hers I don't know how. That seemed to happen with many quilts in our home, and eventually it was loved unto death. Sad but sometimes children do this.

Now back to the quilt my mom was working on. The technique you see on the leaves I now know to be hand turned needle point. Pretty isn't it? Trust me if you could see the tiny little stitches you'd be amazed much as I was when I pulled it out. Fresh with my newly acquired quilting knowledge. The stems of the leaves are hand embroidered. She began hand quilting this on a quilting frame my Grandfather made out of Cherry Wood, just for my mom. Life happened and she was remarried and things sort of slipped past. The quilt remained a UFO (unfinished object) for many years, but then I announced my engagement in at the end of 2002, and my mom pulled out this quilt. She had the name of an Amish lady who would finish quilts for you. The Amish lady set aside her other quilts to have my quilt done in the Spring when my mom came down here to help with the last of the planning. She wrapped up the quilt and gave it to me as a bridal shower gift.

That was such a moving day. I was beside myself that she would give me something she worked so hard on for so long. It was her special quilt, and now it's my special quilt. It's one of our winter quilts because the batting it a bit heavier than you'd like on the bed in the summer time. This year was the first year it was put on the bed with my special Christmas Flannel Sheets. Just in time for our little bout of cold. I did work on the free standing lace, but I only took one photo, I guess it didn't occur to me to take anymore. Boohoo I know. Last but not least is an update on the rag rug. You can see it here. I've run out of rope and need to get more. It would be fine as a play rug in front of a doll house but as you can see it needs a bit more to really work for a runner next to the bed. Jessica thought she was being so silly like that crowding into the photo. Oh what would I do without my little snot?

And now I'm off to an online baby shower. I've never attended one before, so hopefully it will be wonderful. The mommy to be received my gifts earlier in the week and has been waiting to open them till today. I sent her a whole bunch of stuff, if only because I changed my mind after I bought some stuff and then made different stuff, and ended up sending it all to her anyway. I know silly me, but it makes for a nice plump box. :)

Isn't my baby getting so big?

Picture Day, at least for you it is

Isn't life special, today while I relax on my hind-end, as today is a do nothing-icky-rainy day you get postings and photos, which will hopefully motivate me to sew some more. Oh and I'm feeling a bit better, I just have to be careful how I sit down.

First up we have my two reject Log Cabin Blocks. It's heart breaking to me that they are rejects as I find them to be quite pretty. Oh they are rejects because one is to small by 1/2" and the other, rumor has the lady wanted a red center. :(

Next up is a little ditty called "Housewife", This block is brown, tan, and, off white, it made me nuts to take it seeing as it made me think of all the poop a housewife deals with on a day to day bais, but takes a decent photograph. This block also has the honor of being my very first pinwheel. They are not so hard to make after all. Though just a note, this is the block I had to cut extra fabric for, that I made the brown and green pinwheel with that you saw a few days ago.

My next star is not a star at all, rather a block I was concerned with at first but turned out quite nice. The pattern colors left much to be desired but marilbela had an eye for color that I never would have combined. That perhaps is the point of the Challenge Swap is it not?

And last but not least is the third in my set of 12 perinatal quilts. I really need to get moving on that project. This last one wraps it up for the Extra Small Preemie, so now I need to look up the next bigger size.

I have offered my baby quilt making services up to my sister, to make a baby quilt for a lady she works with (my sister is currently working with three pregnant women). I saw the perfect fabric for it at Joann's, it's cheater fabric, a baby pink patchwork that is as soft as the day is long, it just needs a backing, batting and bound up. I'm not quite sure, but something tells me I'll be buying all I need for it. Of course not normally a problem, but a bit of an issue with "what we've got is, really all we've got".

I hate that, things that normally we'd just do, suddenly I find myself thinking, if you would only pay us a little bit for dh's efforts it would really help us out... But in a time when no one seems to have much money, it's only my thoughts that hurt me.