i seriously can NOT thank yall enough for the encouraging words and thoughtful prayers regarding the death of my cousin jimmy. i want to thank each one of you personally, but assumed that writing to yall as a collective bunch would get my point across just fine. i still don't know why i was so compelled to write my previous blog, but i'm VERY grateful that yall were there for me to vent and express my feelings to. thanks yall. i love our little quilting family. seriously.
i write this with a very heavy heart. my cousin jimmy passed away last night. he's my second cousin, and was best friends with my daddy while i was growing up. he leaves behind his wife, becky, along with their 2 children, josh who is 19 and ariel who is 8. the cause of death has still not been announced, but they are thinking diabetic comma or massive heart attack. we won't know until the autopsy is finished. i called my aunt mildred, jimmy's mother, this morning to pay my respects. {because i am in ohio, while my family is in georgia.} she enacted her night to me over the phone, and i honest to god feel like that was the hardest phone call i've ever made in my life. and just when i thought i had myself put together again she simply said, "last night i slept under the quilt you made ariel when she was born." and i just wept. i had forgotten all about this quilt. i made it when i was 16 years old, i don't even remember what it looks like. but her saying that quite honestly took my breath away. she said it was tattered, but still usable. and i don't know why i'm compelled to sit here and write this to yall while i cry, but i felt like i had to tell someone who would understand. so please don't EVER underestimate your work or how it could effect someone, because it could bring great comfort to someone when you least expect it. and for me to know that my aunt is grieving for her son, curled up in a baby blanket made for her granddaughter a million and a half years ago, just touches me. deeply.
so yall know my irish quilt. {better yet my best friend's irish quilt} here's the lowdown in case you don't know...my bestest gal pal in the whole wide world told me that for her 30th birthday ALL she wanted was an irish quilt. i found the perfect pattern that had this lovely irish proverb appliquéd around the border, and i started the quilt without a care in the world. well i got discouraged after st. patty's day passed, then i hit an awesome weekend stride when i got the WHOLE quilt top assembled and all was looking great in my little quilting world. well, i'm not one to be afraid to tell you when i don't know how to do something. and let's face it, machine applique is SO not my forte. i've been meaning to take a class, but haven't. so, i committed myself to hand applique this proverb: "may your home always be too small to hold all of your friends" along with 3 shamrocks. yeah, so that didn't last long. first of all, it took me 3 1/2 hours to cut out all the letters and shamrocks from fabric. and i have spent, what seems like forever, doing the hand applique and all i've got done are the letters "m" and "a" with 1 shamrock. now, i'm committed to my quilting, but i don't want to be working on this quilt until the cows come home. know what i mean? so...i started brainstorming, because i'm not giving my best friend a beautiful quilt with crappy machine applique on it. and here is what i think is the solution to my problem. my best friend's name is amanda, but we call her mandie. so i was thinking that i could finish those "m" and "a" letters to spell out "mandie"...and then go ahead and put the 3 shamrocks as planned. i know that either way, she will love it. i just don't want to continue to be intimidated by the irish quilt. i swear the quilt calls to me like a foghorn, "rachel...come quilt me!" so here i am, asking yall what to do. {so i can finish this beast of a quilt and start all those other quilts with a clean conscience.}
yesterday i had the honor of being the very 1st person to babysit my new niece. yayyy. and of course my sister brought her over with her auntie rachel's quilt. {she goes everywhere with her quilt...it's SO cute.} so i had to snap a picture for yall to ooh and ahh over. :O) i can't believe she's almost a month old...geez. time flies.
so...i don't claim to be a genius. i am southern, so i have my fair share of slow minutes. lol. but i had a great "duh moment" yesterday. i always keep a quilting magazine {or three} in the bathroom for reading. and as my toddlers were playing in the tub, i was glancing through the april 08 issue of ap&q {for the millionth time i might add} and it hit me...page 70-79...like a mac truck. i think i even saw the bulb light above my head. lol. {these quilts were part of the feature cover quilt, two of a kind, with the mother/daughter team. the daughter's quilt is this bright, fun quilt made of beautiful batiks. and the mother's is made of this awesome assorted 1930's prints. i'm sure that most of yall will know what i'm talking about, but i will insert a pic.} anyways, i thought to myself, how cool would it be to make these quilts for my momma and my ma-inlaw. my momma is a woman young at heart, loves caribbean colors, and lives in charleston with bright yellow walls. and my ma-inlaw is this traditional type of gal, loves floral prints, and even has a gone with the wind room in her house. how perfect did that work out??? i pitched this idea to my hubby last night, and he LOVED it. yayyy for me. so, my only question is: do i make them for their bdays {one in july & one in september}, or give the quilts to them for christmas? what do yall think? either way, i'm super excited. and i just might jump up and dance. tehehe.
