Farewell, Dad...until we meet again.

Saying I've had a rough last month and a half would be an understatement. I lost my dad.

As a child, I scratched "Dad" into the surface of my dad's jewelry box.
I found it in a drawer on Sunday; I had all but forgotten about it.

He had a stroke on May 1, ironically the first day of stroke awareness month. After a few weeks of gradual decline, my dad's health turned critical and we knew he wouldn't be around much longer. He was placed on hospice and passed away early in the morning on June 8. I was able to be there and I'm so glad I got to spend these last few weeks with him.

As the weeks passed, it became increasingly more difficult for my dad to
talk, so he did a lot of hand-holding.

All six of us kids (I'm the baby), my mom, and my dad.

We buried him a week ago today.

While I had prepared myself for his passing, I didn't realize I would feel like this after his death. The ache I have for his loss is terribly poignant and strikes at odd moments throughout the day: in a work meeting, watching TV, reading a book to my daughter, singing bedtime songs. I miss my dad so much it hurts.

My parents would have celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary in August. My dad would have turned 75 in September.

Despite the crushing weight of mourning for him, I know I will see my dad again. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm a Mormon. Because of that, I know that life continues beyond the grave. That belief certainly doesn't take away or lessen the pain here and now of not having my dad physically on earth, but it is incredibly comforting to know death is not the end.

For his birthday last year, I made him this mini quilt. He always sung the Lionel Richie song when he called me on the phone. I took the mini quilt home last week and hung it on the wall by my bed. I will be turning it into a pillow so I can hold and squeeze it when I'm feeling low.

I sewed a little bit on Monday and it felt like the first time in a really long time. It's amazing how things you love drop down on the priority list when the things you love the most are in jeopardy. Sewing is therapeutic for me though so I hope to get back into the swing of things in the coming days and weeks.

Happy New Year's Eve!

From my crazy family to yours!

I just called to say, "I love you."

I was planning to schedule this post while I'm recovering from surgery in the next couple weeks, but the mister's aunt passed away unexpectedly this week - she was only 51 - so I think it's important to take time to say the important things in life. We miss you, Nancy.

Earlier this month was my dad's birthday. My dad is pretty much the greatest guy ever. He's calm and level-headed and always tries to keep things peaceful. With five sisters and only one brother in the house that made for a lot of estrogen and all-around hormone overload growing up.

Now that all of us are grown and most of us are away from home with our own families, my dad has tried to make a point to keep in contact on a regular basis. He calls to check in on each of us, which I really love and appreciate.

I don't remember when it started, but every time he calls and I answer the phone, he starts to sing Lionel Richie's song, "I just called to say, 'I love you.'"

A few months after my youngest was born my dad got really sick and spent a week in the hospital. Things weren't the same after that. He's bed-ridden now and we've had a few scares that he was drifting away. For his birthday this year, I wanted to make him something to represent what his phone calls mean to me.

I fussy cut this telephone from Melody Miller's Ruby Star Sparkle and appliqued it onto some of Joel Dewberry's Herringbone in Grass from his Modern Meadow line.

Then I fused interfacing to some of Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee Cross Square in Green and cut out the letters for the lyrics. Then I appliqued them to the background fabric as well.

I initially planned to make a pillow cover, but figured it would be better as a wall-hanging instead.

I plan to make myself a pillow cover like it eventually too. It'll serve as a good reminder of love and family and making sure you take the time to tell those you love how you feel.

A girl and her quilts

You probably think that The Middle is my favorite child because she's featured on my blog so much. While I do love her more than I can say, truth is, she's so enthusiastic about sewing that I want to continue to foster her love for it for as long as she'll let me - those teenage years will come all too quickly.

Several months ago, she asked if she could make a quilt for one of her babies. I pulled out a box of scraps and told her to look through them and pick what she wanted. She did such a great job coordinating her fabrics! We got her a little sewing machine for Christmas so we pulled it out and I showed her what to do. Then she pieced the entire doll quilt top by herself. Seriously, she's better at improv piecing than I am! (We'll have to spend a bit more time on consistent seam allowances though.)



She helped me quilt it and then I attached the binding.

Also some time earlier in the year, I did a demo on machine binding at one of our Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild meetings. I didn't have a quilt ready to bind at the time. I didn't want the binding to be for nothing so I put together a little doll sleeping bag/bed thing that The Middle can put a doll or two in at bedtime.

She picked the fabrics out for me.

I wish I could bottle up her energy and sweetness. We didn't make this blanket, but she takes it out of a quiet book my mom helped me make before I had any kids and she carries it around with some of her stuffed animals. She wanted a picture of her holding it like the others. Dang, she's cute!

Baby Quilts and a Fun Photo Shoot

In May, I committed to a craft fair with my sisters so I made a few baby quilts. My girls had fun helping me take photos Sunday afternoon. (My son was too busy playing legos.)

The Middle did a great job holding these quilts for me. This one is a whole cloth baby quilt featuring Liz Frenette's Kona Modern Quilts.

Then the baby wanted in on the action.

"I can hold the quilt too, Mom."

"See?!"

"Oh, wait! There's a camera over there!"

This baby quilt is made of coordinating solid charms in the Pacific colorway from Liz Frenette's Kona Modern Quilts line.

I used the dot print on the back and one of the wonky stripe prints for the binding.

This patchwork quilt uses charms from Kate Spain's Central Park line. I straight-line quilted on either side of each seam.

I used this animal print for the back, as well as two other prints from the line for the binding. I added a touch of pink and blue for a little pop as well in the top right corner.

Here's the last quilt. I had a bunch of random solid charms so I just put them all together into this little boy baby quilt.

The backing is Dear Stella's Yard Sale in Cantaloupe. I made another scrappy binding out of blue, aqua, and lime, with a touch of orange for good measure.

Nana's 60th Birthday Quilt

I've been getting a ton of spam since I turned off the word verification for posting comments. I'm sorry to have to do this, but if you're an anonymous commenter, you won't be able to comment here. =( Sorry about that, but I'm tired of getting so much spam filling my inbox.

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Warning: This will be a picture-heavy post!

So, my mother-in-law turns 60 this week. A pretty big milestone, I think. She's not big into birthday parties though. So in an effort to do something really special for her birthday, I enlisted the help of everyone in the family to make her a quilt.

My friend, Colleen, made a quilt like this for her mom last year and she had some great tips on how to put this one together.

I gave everyone a piece of Kona white fabric that was 10.5" square and asked them to use Crayola crayons to drawer a picture for Nana. It could be a favorite memory, something the person admires about Nana, and so on.

I was really impressed with everyone's drawings. Some were sweet, some were funny. It was a good mix.

The finished quilt measures about 70x70. I limited the quilting to straight lines on both sides of each seam so it wouldn't cut into any of the pictures. Quilting this way also helps the quilt drape really nicely.

We gave her the quilt on Sunday, and she cried while opening it...just the reaction we were hoping for.

Happy birthday, Nana! We love you!