Mourning Heart for Hideko

My friend Hideko, with whom I was a fellow moderator of the Crazy Quilting International Yahoo group for several years, lives in Sendai. Needless to say, the devastation and loss incurred by the events of March 11 of this year have caused so much pain and suffering among all our Japanese friends.

Hideko herself began stitching a mourning quilt.  Her center panel depicts the coastline in and around the Miyagi Prefecture with sites of particular note marked (tsunami damage, the nuclear power plant, etc.).  One of our friends, Margreet, got a great idea to send Hideko a Mourning Heart. It was a six-inch heart on an 8” square of black fabric, modestly decorated in the blacks, grays and silver of mourning.  Many ladies have followed suit, and Hideko plans to piece the mourning hearts around her central panel and make a memorial mourning quilt/wall hanging.

This is the mourning heart that I completed this afternoon.

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As I was stitching the silver butterfly charm on, it reminded me of a tip that I would like to share with you. Many times I see charms sewn onto crazy quilts, and the hanging loop is still visible. Charms come either with or without the loop, and are often made both ways to allow for the end user to decide which style best fits their purpose. For example, you would need a hanging loop if you are making earrings.

Before

Crazy quilters and art quilters use the loops (if they are there) to stitch the charm to the block.  But an extraneous loop does not add to the design. What to do? Try attaching your charm with a thread color that matches the background fabric. Just a few extra stitches will wrap the loop and make it virtually disappear.

After

It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s pretty darn good.  Did you notice the missing ring in the original picture of the entire mourning heart?  I bet your eye just passed it by......    :-)

Have a wonderful weekend ...  I am starting mine off early Friday morning by visiting an estate sale here in town.  Methinks I’m about due for a Find.

Hugs,

Current Projects, Robin Update

In last week’s post (where has the last week gone?!?) I told you about a nurse I met at the surgical center who ordered three needlebooks from me.  I have another ten days to finish them, but got started a couple nights ago by piecing all three, plus one additional to give her a color choice.  She requested the pink/green and the red, white and blue ones, but whichever other one she doesn’t pick will go in my Etsy shop.  In the meantime, I have started working them by adding laces and trims, and now I am doing seam work.  I expect to finish all the embellishment in the next couple days and will post a picture of them after assembly.

I have also pieced a simple Mourning Heart for Hideko.  I need to applique it to the black block and then do some simple seam stitching, as she requested.  I also hope to have this one done later this week.  As you know, black does not photograph well, but all pieces are much darker in person.

I started my Hearts and Hands for Sendai block in the plane on the way home from Connecticut last month and have not picked it up since.  Once I finish the above projects this week, I have several round robin blocks to work on.  I hope to pick this up after Memorial Day and have it done by mid-June. Those gold feather stitch branches will be covered with cherry blossoms in silk ribbon.

 

I also finished up my purse entry for the annual Crazy Quilting International purse contest.  It came together very easily, which was surprising, because color-wise it is way out of my comfort zone.  I actually used an old UFO (now I have done completed 2 UFO’s this year!), so that is my biggest thrill.

On Saturday evening we had some really strong winds blow through the valley. The type of winds that knock down large branches and cause general havoc. I was so worried about the robins, but when I ran out on Sunday morning to see if the nest had survived, this is what I saw:

Not only did the nest make it through the storm, but Mama Robin is still diligently nesting. Can you see her sitting in there? Her eye and yellow beak are below the horizontal brown branch, near the center of the picture. Her tail is just right of the upright tan branch (the left “goal post”, LOL). All is well. 

The weather here continues to be rainy and blustery, punctuated with a half day of sunshine here and there. With Bruce’s arm out of commission for a couple weeks, I got to mow the lawns for the first time (ever!) It was easy with the new electric mower, but don’t tell Bruce. Tomorrow if the weather is nice, I want to go out to find some annuals to plant in my front porch pots. I have been collecting the Mexican Talavera pots for years; every time we drive to visit the whole Fam Damily south of Tucson, we bring home one or two. They look lovely on our steps, even empty. But they are crying for flowers....

Hugs,

Japan is in Our Thoughts

For the people of Japan,  March 11 will likely be remembered much as we in the United States remember 9/11 (September 11, 2001); a day in which unthinkable, horrific events took place.  Too many souls lost, too many more left suffering.

Japan’s recovery begins even amid continuing aftershocks.  Countries from all over the world are offering help.  Assistance, just a trickle in these early stages, will come pouring in over the next days, weeks, and months. The rebuilding of homes, infrastructures and lives will be a long, painful process.

Let us all keep the people of Japan in our thoughts, prayers, and hearts. But let us also rise up and show with our actions that we are one world community and that we do care!

Please give to relief efforts in any manner and to the extent that you are able, both physically and/or financially.  (Do you homework to make sure your choice of charity is a bona fide organization and not a scam!)

Our friends deserve no less than our full support!

Hugs,