Blocks for Boston

Will you help?  We'll be collecting blocks donated and mailing them to Boston to be made into quilts for the bombing victims, families and others affected by the tragedy last week.  Here are the details:

Blocks sent to the Boston Modern Quilt Guild should be blue, yellow, gray, and white. All blocks should be 12½” tall x the width of your choice. That could mean 12½” x 7”, 12½” x 12½”, or anything wider, more narrow, or in between. Please machine piece your blocks in any style you would like. Please use only “quilt shop quality” 100% cotton or cotton/linen fabrics. Both print and solid fabrics are welcome. Our preference is white or light gray 100% cotton thread, but any coordinating thread of good quality will do.

Please get blocks dropped off to Hip Stitch by May 18 at the very latest, and we'll ship them off.

Thank you, Boston Modern Quilt Guild, for putting this together!

Hip Stitchers

These pics are from December....our long-term goal of getting all our pics up on the blog!   Meet Mary & Brent, one of the most awesome young married couples I know. (ok, Mary is my niece, but no WAY am I prejudiced)  They came in about a week before Christmas to make corn sacks as gifts for family and friends.  They were determined to make and give hand made presents together, even though Brent had never touched a sewing machine before, and Mary's experience was limited.  So, what else to do, but throw them in the swimming pool headfirst!  It was a busy Saturday, there was a class in the lounge, so we set up one machine behind the counter for Mary, got Brent cutting at the table in front, and then set another machine up at the cutting table, gave him a 45 second lesson, and told him, "now, SEW!"  And he exceeded our expectations - they made about a dozen corn sacks and were off to finish their errands for the day.

Brent especially was composed and sewed diligently, despite all the attention lavished upon him.   It didn't hurt that they're such an adorable couple!

Debbie stopped in a week or so ago.  Her mom had moved into assisted living, and her mom's house recently sold, which meant Debbie has been cleaning out the home and getting it ready for an estate sale.  She brought in this outfit, that she made (I hope my memory serves me) in high school 4-H?  Kelly green wool, with matching reversible jacket. Oh, and a matching purse!  Look how she even matched up the plaids:

Our young quilters

Haley finished her quilt today, complete with label, for a very special teacher:

tracing the letters onto fabric label

label on back of quilt

finished quilt!

Easter goodies and other Hip Stitchers!

Meg sent these pics of felt jelly beans in a bag she made for her adorable granddaughter and grandson:

Donna has been sewing up a storm for herself, grandkids, and husband:

Keep going, Donna!

Today is Crystal's birthday.  My niece passed away last summer.  So many of us are thinking of her today, and missing her, and getting through this 1st year without her in our world.

Crystal struggled through most of her adult life with mental illness.  I state this not to remember her with these struggles, but to come out of the closet as someone who also struggles.....and to honor and celebrate her life in the midst of grieving.  To say she was a brilliant artist sounds so cliche, but it's spot on:  her mind was so full of ideas, and love, and creativity, and thoughtfulness towards others.  She battled her own demons, but had a strong faith in God, and lived her years here with purpose.

My own struggle manifests itself in depression....a word that still is hard for me to verbalize without feeling a bit of shame, even though I've talked to many many women (and a few men) who also struggle with this, even though I sought treatment for it about 10 years ago.  It's just one of those things that runs in my family.....like nearsightedness, and breast cancer, and Reynaud's Syndrome.  I wear glasses, I get mammograms  and I suffer through cold cold hands in winter.  I also take a pill each evening which helps keep my serotonin balanced.  Some other family members also treat it....and some don't.  Just like any illness.  I'm thankful and grateful that there's a medicine that works for me.  I know others who struggle to find the right medicine,and I know it's crappy, to say the least, to be depressed.

Today, April 1, I celebrate Crystal, and life, by appreciating good in this world:

*hanging out my laundry while listening to the birds.

*making bread

*grocery shopping and appreciating that I have enough money to buy a few extras today.

*making dinner for my family

*thinking of Crystal today, and missing her, and feeling thankful that she was in my life.  And listening to this song: