Making Someone Smile

I spent last weekend sewing buttons and buttons on a patchwork throw for a lady in the nursing home part of the hospital/personal care/nursing home where I work mainly overnights. Usually I walk with 3 of our resident ladies in personal care to the upstairs activity room to play Bingo. There is a younger lady who always tries to make conversation with me. It is so apparent that she is lonely. I did a little investigating and found that she had been a special education teacher, had no children of her own, and suffered some type of stroke a few years back leaving her in a wheel chair with some memory problems.

Also, birthdays are celebrated once a month at the facility for residents. Her birthday was last Wednesday. So this gave me the idea to spread a little joy and finish a project. My 14 year old son, Wynston and I strolled into her room on Friday and she was so pleasantly surprised. She kept asking my son, "Did she make this for real?" I saw her yesterday at Bingo and she was all smiles telling me that she slept with the quilt on her the night before. I told her I hoped she had pleasant dreams. Her reply, "Only the best kind." Don't know who is smiling more -- her or me.

Making Flowers

Thought I would post about some blocks I have just finished up. Two of them are the same pattern -- called Distelfink. I did some checking on what a Distelfink is and came up with this information: "A distelfink is a stylized goldfinch, probably based on the European variety. It frequently appears in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. They represent happiness and good fortune and the Pennsylvania German nation, and they are a common theme in hex signs and in fraktur. The word 'distelfink' (literally 'thistle-finch') is the German name for the European goldfinch."

These two blocks were hand-stitched around the edges. Haven't done very much cross-stitch over the years but I did prefer it to a satin stitch I am using on a different piece. The satin stitch has me wondering if I will ever finish the block, but I am stubborn and can see the end in sight. That one will be posted once it is completed. See the flowers? -- tulips, and many different ones in the fabric pieces.

This next one I completed on the sewing machine on a hot lazy Sunday afternoon. It is called a Lancaster Rose pattern. I know many more of these are in my future as I like how fast it came together. I used to think sewing/quilting was something to do to stay inside when the snow was falling outside, but with the hot temperatures this early in the summer, it may be my year round pleasure for 2012.

Walking Around Pictures

Sometimes it just takes one step at a time to carry me outside. Then another few steps to run inside to grab the camera. The fun begins as I walk around usually accompanied by a child or my husband to talk about the beauty that surrounds us. Farm life has its pros and cons depending on how you look at things. Right now I am enjoying it!!

Pillow Talk

I have been working on a few small projects -- some with new twists for me. I made this owl pillow for my daughter. She is into this character some now as we seem to find different fabrics with owls on them lately. This is done with fusible web and then machine stitching around every edge of different fabric used, even the eyelashes and nose as pictured. The next pillow was made as a surprise for an old schoolmate that I am friends with on Facebook. He drew this center as a tattoo he would like to get in the future and then put it for friends to see his artwork concept. I printed the black and white picture on the printer and then used my light box to hand copy it onto fabric. I then embroidered it and used colored pencils in some places. Quilted the front and back pieces and stuffed it. My friend Rolo (Danny) was very pleased. He has health disabilities and feels down at times. He told me that no one (not related to him) has ever done something this nice for him. It made me happy as well!!

19 Years Beginning Revisited

Depot Park, Kalispell, Montana -- June 9, 2012 (We were married under this gazebo 19 years ago on May 15th.) The trees have grown shading the gazebo more. There are two new statues in this park. One is a Veteran's Memorial that was redone a few years back. I love the sky in the photo of the memorial. Hope you enjoy sights of the place of my beginning as a wife and now a mother to three children (ages 12, 14, and 18).