A Quilters Poem

A Quilter

A quilter brings us comfort
on the chilliest of nights.
With unseen hands she tucks us in
and softly dims the lights.

What many others throw away,
she knows that she can use.
She brings together every square,
Arranging varied hues.

With simple needle & mere thread,
and batts without a form,
She sews each piece with tender love
To keep us snug and warm.

The Lord has helped her understand
the value of things old,
She swaddles us in memories
Each precious to behold.
Author unknown

**This poem is dedicated to all quilters everywhere!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

The quilted items pictured here are ones that I made for a friend for Christmas. It was made with Debbie Mumm fabrics that were actually an apron and I turned them into a bell, a quilt and a pot holder wall decoration. You really must know my friend loves Christmas and probably still has her Christmas stuff up as I write this.

Top Left shows the set together. Top middle shows the mitt and you can see the machine quilting that I did to it. Top Right is the bell. Bottom Left is the quilt and Bottom middle shows the up close detail on the fabric.

I not only make quilts for those in need, I do make quilts for memories and if you want something a bit unique, you can Email me and perhaps we can work it out.

Enjoy the pictures!

Still Looking...

I am still looking for a benevolent donor that wants to buy a home and put my family into it. I have one picked out, I just know by the time we sell our home and wind up with zip we won't be able to buy it. I am watching it though because the price has dropped to $154K and I know we could offer much less.

So, New Years Eve found me in bed by 2200 hours. What boring lives we live, but what else would we have done?

Finished a quilt today for my old pastors grandson. God has blessed that family with Baby Max who was born prematurely, but continues with each day to get stronger and should be home soon. Our prayers are with this family every day!

It is sooooo cold outside, I just wish it would snow and get on with it, then I could probably take a snow day to goof around. LOL!

Tomorrow is the first day back to school, I can't wait to see all the kids and hear their stories.

God Bless!

Brrrrr, it is cold outside!

It is December 31st, the last day of 2007. I wonder what some of the New Years Resolutions will be? I don't make them because I usually make really dumb ones like refraining from sweets for an entire year...like that will happen!

I did make one a few years ago to not buy any new shoes for an entire year. No one thought I could go through with it and if I did I would be in line on January 1 with $600 worth of new shoes, but it actually worked the opposite way. I realized I didn't need or really want all the shoes I had. Then I broke my tibia and fibula in November 2006 and couldn't use most of them any longer.

But back to its cold outside. It is freezing outside and has been all day. The roadways and sidewalks are covered in ice, the last time I checked the temperature outside, it was 28 and felt like 20. It is cold. My knee highs and jeans can't keep my legs warm.

Sooooooooooooooo, what about the homeless teens in this area who have no place to go to? What are they going to do when it is this cold? Many don't even have blankets, so I am in the process of making some quilts for them with a waterproof, windproof lining.

Please, if anyone would like to contribute to Tsunami Shores Quilts, let me know.

Happy New Year!

55 Degree's Inside

Current temperatures at 2307 this evening here in Aberdeen is 38 degree's and falling. We had hail storms off and on today and we are expecting snow tonight and tomorrow. I am sitting in the basement putting the finishing touches on another Christmas quilt & decided to check my dryer. Brrrrrr~it is 55 degree's in there. It has bare concrete walls & no insulation, so it is pretty raw.

I wonder how the people around Aberdeen who are homeless will survive this night and this winter with no place to go? How do they stay warm? Where do they stay? In door ways of store fronts? In cardboard boxes on the icy banks of the Chehalis river? Under a bridge? In an abandoned warehouse?

I know that many people don't care where the homeless go, but I believe these people are humans, they are people that God created and everyone deserves to be warm on a night like this.

I want to reach out to these people as well with quilts and I know with your help, I can do it. But I need a place to work, I need another sewing machine, I need batting (preferably wool blankets or the cheap but warm blankets WalMart sells. I need to have the ability to start a quilt in the morning and be completing it by evening and ready to be handed out the next day.

Won't you help? Besides the many police dispatchers that need you, there are people that are homeless and need a help up and not a hand out.

Here are a few pictures of a quilt I made today for a Christmas gift for my boss. Our holiday party as it is being dubbed is tomorrow. So, I started out today and finished it today.

It is small, 24" x 32", it is a dark green fabric with red birds on it interchanged with off white cotton squares with hand appliqued pictures of snowmen, angels and other Christmas things with a top center that says 'A King Is Born.'

The back is a red and green Christmas plaid and the border is dark green quilt tape sewn with a modified blanket stitch. The center is a dense poly batting that is stiff so it can be used as a throw or a wall quilt.

Well, it is getting colder down here, so I probably need to go stoke up the fire again or it will really be cold in the morning when we are all getting ready for work.

Its About the People

WOW! I was googling my business name to see what would come up and my blog came up under Google. Now at least I know it might be found.

Well, Christmas is over & it is time to start thinking about our Americorps project for MLK day, we are going to do something with the homeless teens in our area.

I am also going to be working on getting my non-profit status for the quilts if I can afford it and still looking around for a business place to run the company.

For today, here are two miniature quilts I made my husband for his office walls. One is because of his avid love of fishing & I wish you could see the details like both our names in the heart, the scales on the fish, etc. I have it hanging on a branch with a fishing bobber on it and one on the fishing pole.

Below is the second quilt. It is a Moose which I made out of Harley & Tony Steward bandanas, since these are hubbies favorite hobbies. It has trees, birds, stars and a colorful border with 2 1/2 ince strips. The embroidery states: "The Biggest Moose in The Forest,' from a good friend that taught him much!

If you are interested in having something like the Moose made for a friend or family member, I can use their favorite sport or team for things like the birds, stars, trees. Let your imagination run wild. After all, there is only 365 days left until Christmas 2008!

Tsunami Shores Quilts

The picture here is one of 'Footprints in the Sand,' but I think it is an appropriate one with my belief in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.' It is also appropriate to my journey through life walking along the shores of life in contemplation.

I am NOT perfect. There was only one that was perfect and that was Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior who came to earth and died on a cross because of my sins so I wouldn't have to die a permanent death but could enjoy everlasting life!

Depending on who you talk to along my journey, you would get a variety of answers from people who knew and know me. Those that think I am a horrible person for having feelings and allowing those feelings to be hurt. Those that think I am awful for walking away from the pain of abuse. I am sure if you dug through the sand you could find people who just don't like me.

On the other hand, there are those who would call me generous, kind, loving, fair, beautiful. The people who have been with me during tough times and sad times. People I don't know that I have reached out to so they could survive.

I am not a saint, but I am not the devil in disguise either!

So it is I have decided to begin a journey in making quilts for those that have suffered from catastrophic losses & I am calling it: Tsunami Shores Quilts, Quilts That Warm the Soul!

Merry Christmas!