Reflections about Mothers...

Spring has brought spring flowers and more...Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Bruce brought home these beautiful pink tulips earlier this week. We have enjoyed the two shades of pink flowers. The petals are dropping off the tulips, but now there are other fresh flowers gracing our table. They arrived this morning from our son and his girl. Mother's Day is special to me for it was on a Mother's Day weekend twenty five years ago that I knew for sure, I was going to have a child. It remained our secret for some weeks more, but I remember that first feeling of wonder at the prospect of becoming a mother.

This is my first big quilt- I completed this log cabin quilt( pattern sunshine and shadow layout of Eleanor Burns quilt in a day log cabin) when I was pregnant with Kevin. Ubnfortunately, the quilt is in sorry condition now- the victim of former pets and family wear. Here Kevin and our dog Tigger were together, when they were both bright and new.. He is about two months old in this photo- don't you love his running shoe booties??? Even then, he had lots of dark hair.. The first quilt I gave away was this black, red and white Double Irish chain quilt(made around 2000). It belongs to my parents and graces the bed in one of the guest bedrooms of their home. My mother called it my art nouveau quilt because of its vivid colors. It has a rich floral border.

My mother is a woman of great kindness- She is the most thoughtful person I know -always doing something for others. Like her mother, she can be counted on to help others, to listen and to support those in need. To her, it is not the big things in life that matter most- it is all those caring touches that she can do to make others feel important and loved. She has been a wonderful role model in my life. This picture of us together hangs over my desk at school- it always makes me smile. Sometimes, all I have to do is look at that photo to feel her love and her strength from afar. I know how fortunate I am to still have her in my life.I love you Mom- Happy Mother's Day!

Over the years, many of my quilts have had mates- this second double Irish chain quilt belonged to my mother in law- It has beautiful birds in the border fabric- My inlaws were great lovers of the natural world and often enjoyed watching the birds that are part of our local habitat. My mother in law enjoyed creating things- We have two of her paintings. She also enjoyed working with fabric and made quilts for her older grand children. She was a gifted lady who I feel fortunate to be able to have had as a treasured friend as well as my mother in law. To me she remains Mum...

Fast forward 25 years later - This photo was taken when Kevin and Roseanne visited in March. How did that beautiful little boy grow up into this handsome young man? We had such fun when they visited . We so miss his laughter and enthusiasm about life though we feel fortunate to talk to him on Skype frequently. Kevin has just completed his first year at technical college. Bruce and I are proud of him and love him very much. I knew that I always wanted to have children but he has brought more to our lives than I ever thought possible- mostly joy- sometimes aggravation(LOL) but never a dull moment. Each and every day, I recognize that I was given a great gift on the day that he was born.

Kevin and his fiancee Rose have recently bought a house. I am sure that they are going to be very happy in their new home. Kevin has always been fascinated with building and working with his hands. Rose loves to design interiors so their home will be lovely with many special touches.

Speaking of special touches - these beautiful flowers came today- They have many of my very favorite flowers- lilies, roses, carnations,and hyacinths. They came with a loving note from them both and are brightening our dining room table. Anyone want a cup of tea? They had sent the teapot to me earlier in the month- they know how much I love a cup of tea- especially Chai tea! Thank you dear children for your loving gift - it is as treasured as is your love and thoughtfulness...

women in art

I hope this link will work- a while back someone sent it to me - it is a wonderful slide show of women in art- 500 years of women's portraits shown to a beautiful piece of classical music- The link will also show you all the portraits and the artists who created them... And just a small new project to share... This photo is a little project that I completed this evening- it is a bit late- I should have completed it last week, as it was a birthday gift for a blogging friend. It is a signature block- we hope that Ms. D. will enjoy all the blocks that she received and be able to wrap herself in a beautiful quilt hug..

We had a Mother's Day Tea at school on Friday for all of our Mothers, grandmothers, aunties... It was a lovely afternoon where my students shared some songs, dances and a snack with the special women in their lives. My kids made paper flowers and drew pictures about their moms. We also did a drawing of Mom for a card. When I was helping at bus time, I saw some older students with vases, covered with tissue paper squares. Kevin made me one of those vases when he was in kindergarten. I still have it - It, too, is a treasured gift.. Wishing one and all a special Mother's Day.. May it be a day that you are reminded of the gifts of Motherhood. Long ago a dear aunt said to me" when you have a child it is like throwing a rock in the lake-- the ripples go on forever".. I think that is so true.. May you also know that your love continues to expand like the ripples in the lake.. With warmest regards, Anna

Happy Mother's Day - Life is busy these day.....

Happy Mother's Day to all who are the caregivers in a family- some of you might be both mother and father, others might be grandmothers or aunties, that provide hearth and home to your loved ones. Whatever name you go by, I honor and celebrate the things that you do for the children around the world to provide them safe loving homes.

Here is a picture of my mother and me taken last fall. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you will know that my life has been rich with the love of some very special women. I do not know if I can describe my mother in words. She is the most kind and thoughtful person I know - generous with her time, and giving to all that come within her sphere. One could not wish for a better role model or a more loving Mom.
I'm sorry I have been away so long from my blog- I don't know where April went- well I do sort of (quilting, working visiting friends,catching up on some reading and family), April just seemed to have melted away like the snow on my front lawn. I am happy to say that the spring flowers are beginning to bloom and the snow has finally disappeared. Bruce brought home these beautiful little tea roses(I think that is what they are called). In the background, you can see my father's quilt- I have made more progress on it.
I laid the quilt on our bed to check and make sure that it will fit my folks bed- Wahoo its a fit(even Dusty the dog approves). Now to get the quilt pressed and spray basted so that I can quilt it!

Here is a close up of the borders that I added- I did not have enough of the original green so I added a different green and brown border to the outside but I am quite happy with the way it looks. One of my blog commenters, Needlewings suggested that I quilt some trees in the border. This fabric would be a good background for such a quilting design. I hope to finish it for Father's Day, but we shall see- I have a few projects going on right now- One thing is for sure is that before summer's end, I plan to have it completed.
In this photo you can see a better view of the additional borders- the light brown one has bears all over it, so it is very fun, and works so nicely with the central motif. I am not sure how I am going to bind it, as I do not have any of the green left- but I do have more brown bears or I may make a combined binding of the different fabrics in the quilt. I try to have the binding made ahead a time.

I have been busy quilting this past month and I did get 6 baby wraps made(5 of the 6 are actually quilted too) One of our nieces had a baby a couple of weeks ago, and so did a friend at work - Now they need to be bound. I want to get them off to the babies before the babies are too large and the blanket no longer useful.

These bindings are all bias bindings because of the curves on the baby wraps-It sometimes is a bit tricky to get enough binding out of the meter of fabric that matches the fabric in the quilt. I have made lots of these baby wraps over the past 25 years. When I first made them, I tied them and they had lace or eyelet around the outside. Now I use minkee on the inside of the quilt, so it is hard to quilt without puckers if you envelop sew them together(you sew them with the right sides together and then pull them through the space left before you quilt). I think they stay better by being meander quilted together. I like how soft they feel with the minkee. The shape works great in a baby's car seat.

Above you see a collection of 2.5 inch strips. I am taking a workshop next weekend and the quilt requires 2.5 inch strips.(84 DARK AND 84 LIGHT for a queen size quilt) I made all these strips just out of the scrap box- no new yardage. It feels like a found quilt when you do that.
I may cut one large piece of yardage of lights because I always have more color in my collection than I have neutrals.
Today I need to get some of these strips put together into the strip unit. I am not able to go to the workshop on Friday as some former staff members and I, are off to help a colleague celebrate her retirement.
For the last few weeks, I have had a few social things going on- A colleague had a Pampered Chef party (fancy cooking tools). It was fun- the food was delicious and there were lots of interesting tools for making cooking easier- a pineapple corer, apple wedger, a mango peeler, shredders, cutters etc. My sister in law gave us some Pampered chef stoneware pieces a few years ago now. They are quite lovely to use though I find them heavy now. I am not really into cooking but I can see how having the right tools makes it easier- just like quilting. Do you have a favorite quilting tool?
I have been reading other blogs and commenting this month- I won a very nice giveaway from Terry of Aviya Glass. She is a beautiful bead maker and I got to choose which piece I might want. Making such a decision was not easy I can tell you. When it arrives I will post a photo.
A picture of Mom and me taken recently(not long after I had a haircut_ LOL)

Happy Mother's Day Mom- I love you!

This spring has been a busy one- hopefully I will return next weekend after the workshop to show you how I progressed with the strips. We are off to the art gallery this afternoon and then I plan to quilt. Plans sometimes get changed though. I hope that you get a chance to spend some time with loved ones. Happy Mother's Day one and all!
Warmest regards,
Anna