Hand Quilt Along, Slow Sunday Stitching

I just realized I didn't check in for the last Hand Quilt Along, as it was around the time I was caring for my husband before he passed.  The time before that, I had been working on hexies and blocks for my Ella Maria Duncan quilt.  I haven't worked on either of those since.  I need to get back to those soon.  

My grandson Jaeger graduated Friday night.  Although I was not able to attend, as they had limited visitors, I got to watch it on You Tube.  Needless to say, we are all very proud.

For the past several years, I have been working on on the Pieces From the Past Quilt by @Melva Loves Scraps.   for a graduation quilt for Jaeger.

This week I worked on two blocks by hand to add to the original ones we did during the sew along, as Jaeger is 6 feet or more.  So I added another row of 12 inch blocks.  These were the ones I hand pieced.

And I made these two by machine. 

I finished assembling the quilt and machine quilted it.   

I also this week started on a lighthouse quilt which will eventually be for my brother and sister-in-law.  My brother is going to lay a new kitchen floor for me in a couple of weeks, and I told them I would make them a quilt.  They love lighthouses just like I do.  I am trying to get a couple done before they come up in a couple of weeks.

I was feeling a bit blue this week, and daughter Katie came over after work and brought me two beautiful bouquets of flowers.  

My hydrangeas are also blooming.  

What I will be working on this week is the same as last week my washcloth and little stitchery.  

Be sure and check out the other Hand Quilt Along links below.  

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Deb, Nanette, Sharon, Karrin, Daisy, Connie, and Sherrie

I will also be linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Head on over there and check out what they have been up to also.  

Slow Sunday Stitching

As I was getting ready to write my post last week for Slow Sunday Stitching, I couldn't get into my own blog, it was telling me it was unsafe.  I was a problem with my internet provider and security system.  I kept trying to open it for about 4 days, and finally I could all of a sudden. 

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  My family took me to Half Moon Bay for the day.  

My daughter Katie painted this for me.  I had told her the day before Mother's Day that when I had gone in a shop I had seen this on a plain board.  "My mind still talks to you, my heart still looks for you, my soul knows you are at peace".  She went home and painted it that night.  

Last week's events including grandson Jaeger's 2 award ceremonies.  In one of them he received double gold medal for being greater than 4.01 GPA all year.  This is apparently his third year for such an award.  He also received an award for having a 4.0 GPA in Spanish.  This week he received a $200,000 ROTC scholarship from the Navy.  He will be attending University of New Mexico.  

I also got to attend one of his last water polo games for the first time.  

Jaeger's brother Keaton has a broken arm and wasn't able to play the past several weeks.  Keaton is on the left, then granddaughter Kyleigh, me, Jaeger, and Andrew who is Kyleigh's boyfriend.  

I also did some rearranging of furniture.  This is my former office when I used to do medical transcription at home.   I moved the rolltop desk to my bedroom.  This space now made room where I could put my quilt frame.  It gets a lot of nice light in here.

John had built some nice cabinets in here for my crafts, and put in a countertop of granite. 

Here we are with my quilt table in here.  Now I won't have to take it down from the dining room when I have guests.  

Also this week I made this simple baby quilt for a friend to give as a gift.  She asked to come look at my fabrics, and I told her I had some 6 inch squares cut out.  This was my slow stitching this week, to sew the binding down.

What I will be working on this Sunday for Slow Sunday Stitching is this block.  I am making 4 more blocks to go on Jaeger's graduation quilt.  This was from the Pieces From the Past Sew along organized by Melva Loves Scraps.  Jaeger is over 6 feet tall, and this will be a little small for him as is.   These were all blocks that were published in the Kansas City Star in the 30's and 40s.

After the sew along was over, I received a copy of of this book from C&T Publishing.  

I chose 4 more blocks to lengthen the quilt before adding borders.   I'm going to sew this one by hand. 

I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  

Hands2Help Update

 

This is what I accomplished this year in the Hands2Help Comfort Quilt Challenge organized by Sarah @Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  

I sent off two quilt tops to Victoria's Quilts Canada.  

This was from my Stay At Home Round Robin organized by Quilting Gail earlier this year.  

This was from the Star-Kissed QAL that ran last year on Wedding Dress Blue.  It uses up a lot of scraps.  Unfortunately it didn't even  make a dent in my scraps.  

These two quilts were sent off to Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo.  

These two small quilts I made for my choice of Hometown Heroes.  I gave them two of my husband John's Hospice caregivers during his last days, his nurse Stacey and the lady who bathed him Chavonne.  I didn't think to take a picture of them holding them. These were also Star Kissed blocks.  

I will be linking up at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for the Hands2Help link up.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Slow Sunday Stitching, Happy Mother's Day

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.  Today for Mother's Day my two daughters and families are taking me to Half Moon Bay for a day at the beach and lunch.  It will be about a 3 hour drive each way, so a long day, but I plan to enjoy every single minute.  I am riding over with my one daughter and husband, and two grandsons, and maybe a girlfriend.  It has been over three years since I have been able to breath in the ocean air.  

My brother-in-law Roger left on Friday night.  We spent the week going through John's things.  In the closet drawers John had 32 pairs of cargo shorts.  We divided his tee shirts and sweatshirts amongst my son-in-law and two grandsons.  Two of John's favorite jackets I am having relined for them as the lining was frayed.

Today I went through 2 cabinets that John had different things in.  They contained 3 broken printers, 2 VHS movie players, numerous cables, speakers.  Then there were the boxes of paperwork with numerous resumes and cover letters going back to 1981.  There were numerous orientation booklets for various jobs, trade fairs he worked at when he was selling laboratory, medical equipment and fermenters for bioresearch.  

My girls gave me this urn to put John's ashes in.  It is just beautiful.

Grandson Keaton broke a a finger this week during La Cross.  So he will be sitting out the rest of the season plus water polo.

While binge-watching the History Channel and Science Channel this week with BIL Roger, I finished Kyleigh's starfish washcloth.

And I started a whale one.  

I will be linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Head on over and and check out what everyone has been doing.  I will probably be checking out everyone's blog when I get back from my big day at the beach. 

Thanks for stopping by!  

Hands2Help

 

I'm checking in for what I have done for Hands2Help so for 2021.   This is being coordinated by by Sarah @Confessions of a Fabric Addict.    She does such a fabulous job every year of coordinating the charities and sponsors.  Many thanks for all she does!

So far I have these ready to go.  These will be donated to Quilty Hugs for Happy Chemo.

This will be donated to Victoria's Quilts Canada.

I'll be linking up at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  

Thanks for stopping by!

One Monthly Goal, May

 

Time to link up One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts for May.  I continue to very much appreciate this monthly motivation and many thanks to Patty for all she does.  

For my One Monthly Goal for May is to make and complete my project for the Fairy Tale Blog Hop, hosted by Joan @ Moosestash Quilting.  I have not yet decided what Fairy Tale I am going to do, but that is my plan for this month, start and finish my Fairy Tale Blog Hop project.  

Linking up to Elm Street Quilts for One monthly Goal.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Slow Sunday Stitching

I actually finished a couple of things this week while sitting by John's bedside.  I wrote a post here  about the last week of my dear John's life, who passed away on Thursday night.  

I finished my mermaid tail blanket.

I made granddaughter Klara a  unicorn washcloth.  The pattern can be found here.  My knitting is a little rusty, but Klara didn't seem to mind.

What I will be doing this week for Slow Sunday Stitching is working on another washcloth, this time a baby seahorse.  Have just barely started this one.  

I will be linking up at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching.  Head on over and check out what everyone has been up to.

I would like to thank everyone for the prayers and comforting words during this stressing time for our family.  

Thanks for stopping by!

RIP John Paul, 4/5/43-4/29/21

April 29th, 2021 I said goodbye to my dear husband of 45 years, love of my life and soul mate.  His poor heart just could not take anymore.  My heart is broken, but I know he did the best he could to hang on. 

He started having problems April 1st and was hospitalized till the 12th with urinary tract infection, blood infection, hypertension, and just did not seem to be getting better.  Drs. told me he would steadily get worse, so I requested he come home on Hospice.  We found out when he was admitted to hospice he had cor pulmonale, which is right sided heart failure due to complications of high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries.  He was never diagnosed with this before, mainly because he only went to doctors if he was totally out of it, fell, or had a UTI.   We thought all the coughing he had been doing the last several years was due to asthma.  

This past week he seemed to be getting steadily worse, stopped eating or drinking on Monday.  Hospice put him on continuous care last Friday night, which meant in actuality that we had help for 8-16 hours a day, but were responsible for the night shift as they were stretched thin on staff.

John's brother would stay with him till midnight and I would get up at midnight and cover till morning.  He stopped being able to speak about this time, would sometimes open his eyes if spoken to.  

Around Tuesday this week, he started having trouble clearing secretions in his throat, and would make a horrible noise trying to do so.  They gave him meds to try to dissolve these.  He had a Fentanyl patch for pain, with liquid pain killers for break through pain.  He started having trouble swallowing these.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights were horrible with him crying out in pain, and trying to clear his secretions.   

Thursday morning Hospice nurse came and put a second Fentanyl patch on, and said they were going to line up more continuous care.  He was nonverbal and continued to cry out in pain, keeping his eyes mostly closed.  

At around 4 pm we finally got a nurse in, and she took some vital signs, and some other things, and pulled out a sheet of paper saying he was showing signs of end of life.  We found out we would not have a nurse again for overnight, so I went to bed at 7 pm to get up at midnight, and then Roger would take over.

About 15 minutes later, Roger came to get me up saying I needed to come out it would be anytime.  Our daughters, Katie and Kristen were here, along with two of our grandsons, Jaeger and Keaton.  We all gathered around him and told him we loved him and giave him hugs.  I stood by and held his hand.   Meanwhile my daughters pulled up a playlist of songs John liked or used to play for me and we played them.  It was so nice listening to tunes as he slowly faded away, I felt sure he was listening.

 Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton

Amazing Grace by Pentatonix

Hallelujah by Pentatonix

How Great Thou Art by Pentatonix and Jennifer Hudson

Don't Think Twice by Bob Dylan  (John played and sang this)

Polly Von by Peter, Paul and Mary (John played and sang this)  

Take Me Home Country Roads (John played and sang this)

Morningside by Neil Diamond (John played and sang this)

Carry You by Ruelle featuring Fleurie

Rocky Road by Peter, Paul and Mary (John played and sang this)

Sea of Love by Cat Power

Sailing by Christopher Cross

While my Guitar Gently Weeps by Paul McCartney

Somewhere over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Play Me by Neil Diamond (John played and sang this)

House of the Rising Son (John played and sang this)

Juliet by Neil Diamond (John played and sang this)

My husband was an amazing and loving man, and wonderful father.   He was a clinical laboratory scientist (he ran the lab tests).  He designed and built most of our furniture.  He built 6 sailboats and 1 houseboat.  We used to sail a 2 -masted 27 sailboat on our local lake and around the state.  He played the guitar and loved to watch movies.  

When they started playing Sailing that night it brought tears to my eyes as it reminded me of our sailing around in San Diego and Northern California.  In 1975 we sailed from San Diego to Catalina  and back.  

When we got to Juliet, was when he passed a little before 9 p.m.  This was a song he used to sing to me, as it reminded him of me.  These are the lyrics:

Juliet I've been waitin',

For so long for you to come back

How I, I've been needin' you, Juliet.

Wrapped up all in day dreams,

But daydreams won't fill the night time.

And I'm so glad I found Juliet.

Nananananana...

Turn your eyes on me, girl

Wanderin' round inside a grown man

No more than a small boy, sweet Juliet

'Bout to give up tryin'

And there you stood

Without your shoes on

You've gone and loved me, sweet Juliet

Nananananana...

These are some of our favorite photos.  John over the years generally shied away from photos, and so more recent ones are few and far between, and he didn't usually smile.  

Thanks for stopping by!