making progress...

and it

feels

so good...

.

 

...absolutely love

 the moment

when you turn it over

and see all 

four quadrants

stitched together

seams lined up

colors working

squared to perfection

ready now

 to tackle

the miniature white border

and the pieced

outer border

oh fiddlesticks...

not entirely sure

where

that expression...

.

 

...came from

but it seems most appropriate

for the exact moment

when you

think you are done

and

ready for the next step

only to realize

you've made a mistake

and a few seams

will need

to come out

birds & berries...

today was

one of

those days...

.

 

...that my mind and body

were craving

the motion of sitting

 at the machine

with the motor humming

it's a peaceful

and relaxing position

started a new

 project today

another schnibble

using birds & berries

the newest

by lauren + jessi jung

a mother/daughter team

i seem to be partial to those

types of duos

the beautiful future...

i believe

the children

are our future...

.

adam, maria, julie & tj

...teach them well 

 and let them lead the way 
show them all the beauty 

 they possess inside 
give them a sense of pride 

 to make it easier... 

thoughtful lyrics by the

late whitney houston

play over in my mind

as i had the privilege

 of spending

the weekend with these

four amazing and delightful

human beings

they are our future

male cousins by blood

friends for life

with their soul mates

divinely and spiritually driven

to make a difference

moving forward with the best

of intentions

with the love and support of

their families

so very grateful
to be able to share
in their lives

thursday thought...

.

rum raisin

i've been

waiting for this

moment...

.

 

...for more than a month

 i just walked into my

sewing studio

 and felt a slight draft

so i reached for it

the box marked

rum raisin

and very slowly

dipped

my chilly size ten toes

into the soft

sheepskin lining

of my new classic short

 uggs

they likely will never see

 snow or ice

nor will i ever likely see their

australian home

 we are bound to be

 best friends though

i discovered last year

they make the most

amazing house slippers

and of course

as soon as i saw this new

color

i knew it was meant to be

ahhh

my feet thank me

now i wonder what else

i can find in the house

bearing the words

rum or raisin

thursday thought...

.

dreams do come true...

we just wrapped

up our sweet

treat extravaganza...

.

...at jellen's house of fabric

to celebrate our

second anniversary

i still pinch myself

almost daily

we are having so much fun

and

at the same time

making a difference

we had

cameras in the store again

this time for a book

being written to illustrate

all the things that

 persons with down syndrome

can accomplish

such as...

...sewing on a machine

it's simply amazing to me

to look at this picture

and visually see

just where we have come

all because i was born

with a love of fabric

so very grateful

for that

counting each one...

today is the day

my hubby and i

said i do...

.

...twenty six years ago

at first i was not

going to mention it

felt like it was almost

a non celebratory year

after the much

awaited twenty five

last year

then late this evening

a customer came in

we talked alot

about her husband

and his untimely death

following a diagnosis of cancer

 just a few short months ago

they had celebrated

fourteen years

she so wishes she had more

she misses him so

and i got to thinking

each year does need to be

recognized

celebrated

even if it's only a special kiss

to say i love you more than before

our time here is borrowed

each day is a gift

happy 26th anniversary john

there are witches in the air...

i don't often

post pics

on this blog...

.

...of the displays

in the store

because usually

there are no creations

to display

of my own work

well...

we just finished this

halloween set up today

and up on that wall

to the right

the lower hexagon

completely stitched by me

the other items

by my friends crystal and helen

don't you love

 the inclusion of

purple in halloween

i sure do

peace, love & happiness...

if ever i've

questioned

the validity...

.

of a grand master plan

the perfection

 of this evening

showed me otherwise

the mere hands of man

could never have

orchestrated

what i witnessed

what i felt

the manner in which

twenty seven years of life

played out

the script was better

than anything

i could have written

the wonderment

the healing

the thankfulness

shall never be taken for granted

i am humbly grateful

and most excited

 for the future

celebrating family...

the beauty

of

the evening...

.

...can't be defined

 in just a few words

being with family

celebrating love

being witness to our creator's

master plan

is a great evening indeed

congratulations to

christy & abel

new husband and wife

in kristen's memory...

this day

will always

be etched...

.

...in our mind

july 20th is the day

the kirton's lost their

beloved kristen

the day they held her

 in their arms

as she took her last breath

the day her siblings

had been dreading

yet they knew

was inevitable

so they selflessly

moved their wedding days

on a few days notice

to an earlier date

so kristen could attend

i thankfully have not yet

buried a child

although i know

the possibility is there

it often lurks

 in the dark hours of night

and when it does

i think of kristen

and how brightly

 her light still shines 

and how i know

in my heart

we would not be

where we are today

without kristen

i think of how much  good

has come from her

and what she was

able to teach us before

she had to say goodbye

my heart is heavy

as i write this

for polly and her family

left behind to grieve

with a void

 that never goes away

we are so very grateful

to have been given the

honor and privelege

of being introduced to

this wonderful family

not a coincidence i'm sure

but rather by design

please leave polly

some love tonight

a rare sighting...

i just turned

the page of

the photo album...

.

...the one from ten years ago

and look what i found

miss sarah

 hanging out with me

in my sewing studio

it did not happen often

only when she wanted

 a new twirly

from my ribbon drawer

never, ever and

i mean absolutely never

did i think back then that

the two of us

would be working

side by side

in a fabric store

or a sewcial lounge

happiness does come

 to those who wait

it's a lemon cooler...

how many times

a day do you

get lemons...

.

the quilt, which has nothing to do with the post i just love it,

is by shirley lips of  the quilt haus in greenback tennessee 

and currently hanging in jellen's house of fabric

...thrown your way

i thought i might

have had a lemon

you know

the upside down pfaff

i won on ebay

i wrote a note

to the seller

being as nice as i could be

but still stating that i was

a tad miffed the

girl had been hanging

the entire way from seattle

my hopes were not high

in fact i'd already written

it off to another lesson learned

well that's probabaly not the truth

as i will bid again

you know i will

today i opened my email

and guess what

read this one for yourself

I'm sorry to hear that your machine arrived broken. Rest assured we took great care when packing and shipping it, but unfortunately these things sometimes still do happen.
I will email you a shipping label so that you can return the broken machine at no charge to you. Simply re-pack the machine, tape the box closed, print out and attach the label, and then take it to your local UPS shipping center at your convenience. What email would you like the shipping tag sent to?
Then we have a few options: I will check to see if we have another 1475 that we can send you, or we can try to repair your damaged 1475, or I can give you a full refund (including shipping). Please let me know which of these options you would like us to pursue.
Thank you

well how about that

an honest joe

assuming and accepting

responsibility

and making good

truly made my day

just like a refreshing

lemon cooler

on a hot and humid

summer day

bottoms up...

i simply can't

believe 

i am sharing...

.

a photo of a box

and retelling this story

 again

are you ready

for what might seem like

deja vu

i bid on another pfaff 1475

and then i left town

 when i returned home

i had a message from ebay

i was the lucky highest bidder

jumping for joy

i quickly paid for my favorite

sewing machine...

it arrived today

in a perfectly wrapped box

i carefully sliced the tape open

and then gasped loudly

as i removed the top layer

of the pretty blue padding

to discover

the poor thing

 had traveled across america

upside down

i suddenly felt like an ob/gyn

trying to decide

whether to reach in

with forceps

 or gently rotate

from the bottoms up position

after consulting

with my team

i opted

to turn the box on it's side

and gently slide her out

simply hoping to give life

to my new baby

in an otherwise

nauseating world...

...unfortunately

it appears our efforts

were in vain

as i inverted her

to the standing position

pieces and parts

 began to fall

in every which direction...

as i stared down into the box

i wasn't sure what to do

laugh at my own

repeat of a mistake

or cry

 for the mind

that packed this delivery

wondering

 whatever were they thinking...

as i held the broken pieces

between my calloused

thumb and forefinger

i recalled the last time

i had won

realizing i'm

averaging three to two

and sixty percent

is better

than none