On my design wall

I enjoyed piecing the blue paisley Double Four Patch so much... ...that I decided to make another using some larger pieces of fabric from my stash. Here are the strips that I've already sewn together and cut apart again. They're ready to go into the four-patch blocks.

As I finish sewing the individual blocks together, I put them up on my design wall so I can watch the quilt pattern forming. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this design wall?

Finally, all the blocks are sewn. This quilt pattern is so nice for me because I don't need to have a huge chunk of time available to work on it. I can use any free 10 or 15 minutes to get a bit more done. And that makes it go really fast!

This morning, I got four rows sewn together in about 20 minutes.

So, five rows to go, then it'll be time to add borders.

Sad to say, but I've already thought of another group of fabrics I have that I'd love to sew into this quilt - using all primary (bright) colors for the 16-patch block and brights on black (it's a great floral) for the 4-patch units.

Quick Note: I have been working a bit on the Midnight in the Tropics applique blocks but only at my small quilt group meetings once a week. I need to get it laid out in the family room so it's handy. Unlike the Double Four Patch, I always feel like I need an hour chunk of time when I want to work on applique.

One Sad Dog

First let me say that Charli gets out for a swim pretty much every day. Even if it's raining (not pouring, just raining and yes, there is a difference; I live in the Pacific NW, trust me, there is a difference), she still gets out for a swim.

And this is how she gets us to take her.

She just stares out the window. Even her reflection looks sad.

Then she does this:

Is your heart breaking yet? If she doesn't get a response, she goes back to the window and breathes out a big, noisy sigh. It's pitiful. Really.

I swear if you could look into her brain at what her favorite scene is, this is what you'd see:

Poor little yellow dog.

Celebrating Peggy's Life

The weatherman says this Saturday is going to be a beautiful day. The temperature will be near 70. The sun will be shining and those Spring flowers that haven’t already popped, most certainly will. These first days of Spring mean new growth, new hope, new life. However, this Saturday, the women of my small quilt group will cry.

Tangled Threads enjoying a weekend at the beach

Outside, we’ll still rejoice in the beauty of the day and we’ll greet each other with warm hugs and smiles. But inside, we’ll all be remembering someone whose absence we feel to the core of our souls. For we’ve lost one of us. Saturday is Peggy’s Memorial Service. Peggy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer almost 7 years ago. For 6.5 of those years, she fought it with everything she had. She endured surgery, radiation and countless varieties of chemo, and she struggled against the ravaging side effects each new treatment threw at her.

The Chemo Quilt we made for Peggy.

Each of us "dressed" our doll in the style that best suited our personality.

Still, she always had a smile on her face and a warm hug when she greeted us. Her first words when we got together were always to ask about our lives. Her parting words at the end of the night were always an “I love you all so much” and a kiss on the check for each of us.

About 6 weeks ago, we learned the cancer had advanced beyond all hope. Peggy made the decision to go on hospice. I think we all struggled with that decision, knowing that we were losing a dear, dear friend. And yet, we also knew how tired she was. She wanted her final days to be days spent simply loving her family and friends, free of pain and free of chemo.

She died March 1 at 4:15 in the afternoon, surrounded by her family.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Christmas 2008

It’s hard to describe the closeness I feel toward the women of my quilt group. A few years back, I wrote an article about Tangled Threads for the HP quilting website. The following paragraphs were how I described our group then. Some 6 years later, it’s still spot on: When the women of Tangled Threads Quilt Group met for the first time back in the late 1980s, they were anxious and excited to meet others like them. Most were working mothers who had only a few hours each week to share their passion for quilting. Some 15 years later, the kids are grown, some members have retired, new members have joined, and other members have moved or just moved on. But a core group still meets every Tuesday night. Their conversations are richer now, and while quilting provides a reason for the meetings, more and more those two precious hours are consumed with laughter, tears, and tales of family, home and self. These women have seen each other through weddings and births, illnesses and deaths. They’ve vacationed together, celebrated individual achievements, and gently wrapped loving arms around each other during times of stress and difficulty. They know they can count on each other for support – no matter the day, no matter the hour. They are much more than friends and closer than many sisters.

Christmas 2009

So this Saturday, we’ll gather with Peggy’s family to remember her and to celebrate her life. The quilts she stitched with so much love will be on display throughout the church.

Together, we’ll share Peggy stories and we’ll laugh because it wouldn’t be right to remember Peggy without laughter. But rest assured, this memorial service will be hard on us and there will also be tears.

Because this time...this time, we’ve lost one of us.

Godspeed, my friend – ‘til we meet again at that big Quilt Show in Heaven.

One last thing...

Okay, just one more thing and then I'll stop with the Olympics pictures.

Promise. The thing is, I'm not that into architecture but, man, Vancouver, BC has some wonderful buildings. I found myself snapping lots of pictures.

Okay, I'm done. I hope you enjoyed my Olympic experience. I certainly did!

Granville Island

On our second day at the Olympics, we made a quick trip to Granville Island for breakfast. Granville is in the heart of Vancouver and while we knew we didn't want to be there as traffic increased, we decided to brave it early in the morning. Granville Island is an arts and crafts community. That's evident everywhere. I loved this guy who has a duck for a spirit animal. His tag says "John had hoped his spirit animal might have been more impressive."Our view as we ate was the Vancouver skyline - beautiful! Granville is home to a large indoor public market that includes produce, desserts, flowers, hardware, and just about everything else. There is a wide variety of restaurants which offer foods from every region in the world.

Hockey. It's Canada. Even at 10 in the morning the Canadians are all about hockey.

There's a wide variety of things to do on Granville Island. Unfortunately, we had only a limited amount of time to spend there.

Dan and Randy would like to have sampled some of the Granville Island Brewery's finest but it was early and the Sampling Room wasn't open.

The Swiss Pavillion was located on Granville Island and we wanted to see what was there. Unfortunately, it was simply a high-priced restaurant. But his chocolate Lindt truffle replica just outside the front door was cute.

There were also cutouts of obviously Swiss athletes surrounding the building.

Then, the rain started and it was time for us to leave. We did try to get into the Holland House Pavillion later that morning but the line was...long. So, we stopped for some lunch, then headed home to our Vancouver.