My First Quilt

In January of 2001, I decided to make a quilt. I had sewn a lot as a child and young adult, but after a while, it just didn't seem cost efficient to sew, so I stopped. My mom, who had taught me to sew also stopped sewing so much so there were several years where the sewing machine mainly just sat and gathered dust. Occasionally I got it out to sew patches on my son's scout uniforms, or to fix tears but that was it.
Then my mom started quilting, she seemed obsessed about it, but while it seemed like something I'd like to do someday, I wasn't all that interested. But, my daughter Tania . . . she was interested . . . and before she went off to college she was determined to make a quilt. So my mom, Tania and I went fabric shopping and chose fabric for a quilt. And Tania determinedly learned to cut and sew the pieces together until she had a quilt. It was very pretty. She went to college and then GAVE IT AWAY to one of her roommates. Then when she came back home for a visit she wanted to make another one so we pretty much did the same routine with my mom. Then something happened and my interest started to grow and pretty soon I had decided . . . I wanted to make a quilt. I gave myself 6 months to make a quilt and the deadline was that it would be donated to a raffle that would be held that summer at a dog show in Wisconsin. We were showing Springer Spaniels at the time, and the English Springer Spaniel 2001 National Specialty was being held in Oconomowoc, WI. I became obsessed with making a "perfect" quilt and had no picture in my mind of what I wanted to do. So I started looking at books and patterns until I found a book I LOVED. Folk Art Quilts by Sandy Bonsib. I chose the pattern called Lopsided Hearts. I modified the pattern to include dog bones and one English Springer Spaniel (ESS) in some of the places where there were hearts. Then I went shopping for fabric. It was a scrappy quilt, so it needed LOTS of different fabrics. Lots of 1/4-yard cuts. Some of the fabric was really weird because I wanted it to look REALLY scrappy . . . like it had REAL scraps in it. In fact, though, not a single piece really was a scrap, I bought each piece purposely and I agonized over almost every decision. Silly me!
It did take me six months to make it, I was sewing on the binding AT THE DOG SHOW! I put every single stitch into it, I even taught myself how to machine quilt it with stitch in the ditch, meandering and loops. Soon after I started sewing it on my old Kenmore I decided to buy a new sewing machine. Perhaps this quilt is the most expensive scrap quilt ever made!!! And of course, I was hooked into quilting.
I sold around $700 in raffle tickets for the quilt. I loved the quilt so much that it seemed like it should have been more like $700,000!!! The money raised was donated to the PRA Fund of the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association's Foundation. Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) is an eye disease that causes blindness in dogs.
Now you will know where QUILTEDESS comes from.

A Favorite Quote

This quote was in a talk given by President Gordon B. Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love it.

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
(Gordon B. Hinckley, quoting Jenkin Lloyd Jones)

Getting Ready for Winter

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. This picture shows part of my back yard. I love how fall sunshine makes everything have a golden glow. After the heat of summer dries and bakes everything, the coolness of fall comes to give relief and here in Western WA, everything turns green again, almost like spring. The colors are absolutely the best. The smells are the best. The foods are the best. It is time for comfort food and warm sweaters. If there is any downside to it, it is that there never seems to be enough time to really enjoy the season. I want to sew and knit and cook. But, life gets busy and I never do enough. Then comes winter.

I love winter too, even though it isn't my favorite. Here is a picture of my dream house in winter. I've missed winter snows since I've lived in Woodinville and look forward to experiencing the pure white beauty of it again.
A part of me knows that it won't be as idyllic as it appears, but there will certainly be those fleeting moments that make it all worthwhile. Those are the times that I feel very blessed. There must be a reason that fall and winter bring us close in to home and family. There is an amazing balance to it all. And there's always something wonderful ahead.

A Farmgirl's Dream

This is a view of my new property. This shows just the front part of the empty 10 acre parcel. The trees planted towards the center of the photo are to the right of the gated entrance of the "community" which is called Saddle Ridge Estates. It was once all part of a 160 acre farm that my dad farmed many years ago. My cousin's son, Josh, had just cut the grass hay shown here, and was working on the bailer getting ready to bail it. The white rail fence on the left is the front of the parcel which faces Peone Valley Lane. We plan to build our house here in 2 or 3 years. In the meantime, I will have my cousin keep farming the parcel. We have chosen a house plan that is kind of a modern version of a typical farmhouse with a large front porch. The garage is detached and I envision a quilting/sewing studio at the top.