The day before our daughters wedding last November, our dear friend collapsed at work. My husband was there with him. We took him to the emergency room, where they found a sizable brain tumor. (Our friend had been sick for the previous three weeks. He had been to the doctor multiple times, where they had found nothing.)
In the following days, surgery was preformed to remove the tumor and to biopsy the tissue. It was discovered that he had a grade 4 glioblastoma, a aggressive [and virtually] lethal form of cancer. Treatments were given to extend his life, but after all that could be done for him, last week he passed away into eternity with his family by his side. He was 51 years old. Seven children (plus three spouses). Four grand children. ..and a devoted and loving wife... parents, brothers and sisters, nieces & nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins and countless friends.
The past six months have been extremely hard. Our hearts are broken for them and for ourselves.
His wife has written several uplifting posts about her feelings and thoughts. Here is one of the poems she shared.
Feel no guilt in laughter, he'd know how much you care.
Feel no sorrow in a smile that he is not here to share.
You cannot grieve forever; he would not want you to.
He'd hope that you could carry on the way you always do.
So, talk about the good times and the way you showed you cared,
The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared.
Let memories surround you, a word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day,
That brings him back as clearly as though he were still here,
And fills you with the feeling that he is always near.
For if you keep those moments, you will never be apart
And he will live forever locked safely within your heart.
Unknown
At times like this, I am so grateful to know that through the resurrection & atonement of Jesus Christ, we will live again and can be reunited as families. That is the Good News the Savior brought with him. It brings me peace and gives me hope, even in the darkest of times.
I love the words to this Hymn.
3. "Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand.
7. "The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, I’ll never forsake!"
How Firm a Foundation,
LDS Hymn #85
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
A GLORIOUS Weekend at Sundance
Wednesday, my husband and I headed up to Sundance for. Little r&r! ...and quilting ;-)
My brother let us stay in his cabin for the week. :-D
A little knitting to get the weekend off to a great start!
My sew together all packed for an awesome weekend!
Working on string blocks :-). Just keep stitching, just keep stitching!
We got our first view of our second expected grand baby :-)
Using the beautiful windows for a design wall :-)
Laying out my string blocks :-)
My first finish of the weekend!
Sugar cookie treats!
While I was up at the cabin a few things came in the mail for me :)
My cool shirt!
A barf bag & soap from Sara :-)
And a fq bundle of super cute 1930's prints.
Brittany making progress on her double wedding ring quilt for her husband.
My second project for the weekend was to make sew together bags for my mom and mother in law.
My moms sew together bag all finished.
Working on my mil's.
A few late Mother's Day presents completed! :-)
The inside of my mother in laws sew together bag.
The inside of my moms sew together bag.
My friend Brittany was able to come up Friday and Saturday. She worked on her AMAZING double wedding ring quilt.
A selfie of the family on the way to church.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Pioneer Trek Clothing
My long time friend asked me if I could make some clothes for her girls that are going on a Pioneer Trek this summer. I figured I'd give it a try ;-).
Here are all of the pictures and little commentary as I am away from my computer and phone blogging is a bother :/
Here is the link to the patterns I used for the skirt and bonnet. For the bloomers (not pictured) I used a pj bottom pattern and just cut them to the correct length. Elastic will be added to the bottom when they are hemmed to fit the girls. (They live a few states over in Kansas 😉)
THIS is the apron tutorial I used. http://handcart-trek.org/patterns/Aprons.pdf
A few people have been concerned that the fabric is too cheerful and not pioneerish enough. I figure pioneers would have loved such bright and cheery fabric :-)
Friday, May 9, 2014
Park View T-Shirt Quilt
The secretary at my kids school commissioned me to make a quilt for our principal that is leaving at the end of the year.
She gave me a bunch of school t-shirts that we had during her tenure as our fearless leader.
To border each t-shirt I used Violet Crafts Waterfront Park collection in grey, black and yellow.
I decided on a flower fmq for the borders around the t-shirt fabrics.
After I finished quilting the borders, it was clear that I needed to do a little quilting on the t-shirts themselves.
I tried to keep it simple.
I did not quilt on any of the screen printing.
Enjoy the "TOO" many pictures, as usual :)
As you can see, I used a little black and white Half Moon for the borders. I LOVE that print!
To back the t-shirts, I used the lightest fusible Pellon that I could find.
This time I used Pellon 906F Fusible Sheerweight.
I have been having a ton of fun printing labels on my home printer :)
For the binding I used one of my all time favorites! Can you guess what it is?
I love how the back looks. They are going to have all of the kids and the staff sign the back.
Good luck on your new adventures, Mrs. Reynolds! We will miss you!
Quilt stats-
82.5" x 57"