Stepping Stones

It's that time again to complete a "Stepping Stones" quilt - to be given to a graduate from a Tokyo orphanage.  I have been assigned Hiroki, who likes green and blue.

I purchased lots of the fabric in Japan... supplementing liberally from my stash of green scraps at home.

The pattern is Bonnie Hunter's "Sticks and Stones" - and for our purposes we call it "Stepping Stones". You can find the free pattern here.

Although the finished quilt looks like it is made up of four patches and narrow sashing, it is actually constructed as a nine-patch with the sashing "built in":

Twenty out of thirty scrappy blocks completed!  Feels so good to (finally) get into the sewing room and feel productive there.  It seems like it's taken weeks and months to settle back into life back in the U.S.

Besides... after going completely off the rails of Weight Watchers over the past few weeks, I am thinking it's time to concentrate on fabric and sewing once again, rather than this kind of stuff:

But... one last batch of cookies today....

How I wish I could talk to Grandma Mary Lou about cookies and quilting once more!  I do feel her close though... especially in the kitchen and in the sewing room.  

So thankful for this crew... (my how the years fly!): 

Happy New Year fellow quilters out there in blogland.  Hold your loved ones close! 

xo

Cynthia

Christmas at home, and a very worthwhile 5 minutes!

I know that "home is where the heart is"... and now a piece of my heart will forever be in Japan...

but it DOES feel really good to truly be home-home this Christmas season...

Especially with the promise of all three chickies back in the nest...

And celebrating our daughter Kaela's recent engagement to Joe:

We refocus on the birth of Jesus:

 And have some fun as well:

This is about half of the Christmas quilt I finished last year...

It's from an old, great little book called "Favorite Quilts Fast and Fun" by Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan.

I added a little red house to represent where we lived when I started the quilt years ago... in a little red Cape nestled in the pines...

Not a great photo but you get the idea:

I hope you are having a wonderful December.  If you are so inclined, I invite you to watch this beautiful little video -  "Good Tidings of Great Joy: The Birth of Jesus Christ" - one of a series of Bible videos produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It's an excellent way to spend five minutes!  I have found that it's one good way to refocus on the Savior when I'm feeling a little scattered or stressed with the busy-ness of the Christmas season.  "The story of Christmas is a story of love." 

Little " Three Friends of Winter" sashiko sampler

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One thing I love about sashiko is the inherent symbolism within its designs.  I made this little Sho Chiku Bai (pine, bamboo, and plum - the "three friends of winter") sampler for a friend who has been facing some daunting health challenges with grit and with grace.

 Matsu (pine) remains green all winter and beautifies the landscape.  It denotes endurance and longevity, inner strength and resistance to hardship:

Take (bamboo) grows quickly and bends, but never breaks, during harsh conditions.  It too represents endurance and strength, as well as flexibility:

And ume (plum) blossoms appear during the winter, signaling the approaching Spring.  They  represent hope, vitality, beauty, and optimism during difficult times.   

In thinking about what to add in the fourth square, I decided on arrow feathers (yabane) which naturally symbolize the strength and courage of a warrior:

I worked the sampler on indigo, with off-white sashiko thread (which reads pure white, against the indigo).  And for a bit of whimsy I backed this little sampler with some blue and white tenugui printed with cute plovers:

I confess that it's not really a very practical little item, but it could be used as a bread basket liner or napkin... or perhaps as a drawer liner scented with perfume or essential oil.

And now... with the house in a quiet, relatively clean calm state with dishwasher running, laundry (almost) caught up, fire in the wood stove, fridge filled to the brim...  we are happily awaiting our girls and a passel of their friends for the long weekend to help us celebrate Thanksgiving.  A few from Boston and a few from New York City - sweet compensation for last year's Thanksgiving spent far from them, in Japan!

Linking up with Slow Bloggers... hosted this month by Willis of "Hey, Sis, Look What I Made" - she has a thoughtful post about how "life happens" - we can all relate!!

Sewing room bliss

We have just been basking in the beauty in our front yard... and putting off raking leaves for now.  First the sugar maples... 

Now the Japanese maple, which I can see from my kitchen window... 

It has taken me 'til now to feel adjusted and truly happy to be back in the U.S.  I hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to readjust after (just) two years in Japan!  But now I can truly say, I am content and happy to be home.  We are slowly refreshing the interior of our house with new paint, lots of decluttering, incorporating some of our treasures from Japan, etc. 

One highlight is my sewing room - thanks to the removal of maroon wallpaper, the addition of  yellow and white paint, two trips to Ikea, and some creative repurposing of furniture!

Desk with a window facing our front yard - so cozy:

Space for quilting books and the Japanese fish baskets I collected - they hold fabric and UFO's: 

Spot for machine quilting, and a dresser filled with sewing and office supplies: 

My eyes fill with tears now and then, when I realize I can't call up Grandma Mary Lou and "talk quilts" or talk food and cooking.  I can hardly believe it.  I have her old fabulous machine set up in my sewing room now.  She took such great care of it and it's a great, solid, smooth machine.  I will now have the luxury of having this second machine to dedicate to piecing, and the honor of being the next steward of this Bernina 830!  

Next to that machine is my ironing board, which is strategically placed over a rather weak spot in the 200+ year old floorboards underfoot.  Behind the ironing board you might catch a glimpse of "Fiona" and "Zoe" - story dolls Mary Lou made my girls when they were toddlers: 

And I found this ladder - a section of an old apple picking ladder, found in a barn that was cleaned out in a nearby town - for a song at Upton House Antiques, one of my favorite local haunts.  

Bottom rung - the quilt my Great-grandma "Two" made me when I was in kindergarten

Middle rung - the butterfly quilt Grandma Mary Lou appliqued and hand quilted for me when I was in elementary school 

Top rung - my first quilt - a hand pieced and quilted nine-patch for my first daughter, completed in 1992.

There you have it - a quick tour of my office/sewing room.  This is what happens when two out of three children leave the nest:).  Bedrooms get shuffled, and Mom's sewing room gets moved from the attic to pretty much the best room in the house:). 

Catching up

I realize it's been a month since I last posted, and I owe Part 3 from the Lowell Quilt Festival... coming soon.... but in the past month our world was rocked.   Just as we were making preparations for Grandma Mary Lou to come live with us in October, she passed away, after less than a day in the hospital.  Still, such a shock.

1992, me with Grandma ML and the Sunbonnet Sue she made for Noelle 

Grandma really lived right up until she died - made a peach pie two days before and told me all about it.  She was nearly 92 years old.  The service for her was truly a celebration of a wonderful life well lived - a life full of people, music, food, quilting, laughs, love, and service.

Making a flannel baby blanket with Grandma, 1992

I was her only grand daughter and she never let me forget it - we had a special relationship and I will miss her dearly.  She was my first and best quilt teacher, and more importantly, taught me many life lessons through example... and sometimes lecture:).

I can hardly believe I can't call her on the phone anymore.  I had really been looking forward to pampering her in her last years, but God had other plans.  It was a blessing that she could pass away in Denver and never have to make the daunting cross country move to Massachusetts.  I know it is best this way, but I will miss her so dearly.

brother David, me, cousin Dana at Grandma's. 

I am now back home from Denver... craving control over our chaotic house... waiting for our sea shipment to arrive from Japan... scrambling to paint some rooms and de-clutter like crazy.

I feel pretty exhausted physically and emotionally by quite a rough summer, but... I have witnessed God's merciful hand in my life and am so grateful for wonderful friends and family.

Catalpa trees planted years ago by Grandma 

I started this blog to in the first place to share my quilting adventures with Grandma (especially while we were living in Japan)... and I need to decide whether I will continue with it!  I think I will... I'd like to.

Next up.... the promised third installment from the Lowell Quilt Festival!

Reconnecting in North Carolina

We had a family reunion for my husband's side of the family - a wonderful week at a luxurious mountain retreat in North Carolina... 

A relaxing and joyous week reconnecting with extended family - about 50 in total - stories and food - holding babies - fly fishing and rafting for some, laughs and games and long talks for all - a week long celebration of Nani and Poppie's 50th wedding anniversary... a gathering we will never forget.  It was just amazing.

And it included the requisite GYOZA NIGHT:   

I really regret not taking more photos throughout the week - but I guess I was trying to be "in the moment" !

And on Friday the reconnecting continued with a visit to my brother's family, where my Dad and Denise also joined us from Colorado.  A quieter gathering but also precious time together.

North Carolina is so beautiful and it was a long but easy drive.  (It seems like yesterday that we had sleeping baby and two preschoolers in the backseat on road trips - how did they grow up so fast?)

At my brother's we marveled at the house he recently finished building.  He is a master carpenter.

Amazing craftsmanship:

Upstairs I noticed right away that the old Bernina, which was given to me by Grandma Mary Lou, and which I handed down to my niece A a few years ago, is being used and loved - such a good feeling!

She is making little drawstring bags for children at a therapeutic horse camp where she volunteers her time - she has a heart of gold!

Grandpa and Grandma D catching a photo with all their grandkids:

Grandma Mary Lou's high school graduation portrait displayed in the hallway between the girls' rooms:

Paintings by Uncle Frank, set beautifully in the dining room:

At this point most of you are thinking... where are the quilts in this post?  Ha ha... I did snap some photos of a few I've made for my nieces over the years:

Butterfly applique quilt:

"Love is Spoken Here": 

Patriotic Stars: 

A simple sweet baby quilt made by Grandma Mary Lou:

And another:

And this great old Crazy Quilt in a bar setting - I love it!

And lastly this treasure from my great-grandma "Two" - a classic nine patch:

Everything so artfully arranged by Janette:

A great vacation so focused on reconnecting with all sorts of family - just the thing we needed as we transition from Japan back to the U.S.  Soon I will post about the small sashiko project I am working on - so stay tuned!