Happy Quilty Valentines
Happy Quilty Valentines! My husband has probably listened to this video 200 times in the last month on repeat driving his sweet car around town. I hope he is thinking about ME! I love this man that supports my quilty life and joins in on the FUN!
What are you doing for Valentines? Let me share more of the quilty fun things we have made this last month or that I have seen this last year!
XOXO, Deanna
Tula is a storyteller in each of her fabric lines! Her stories enrapture us and draw us to her fabrics and art. She has told many stories to enthrall and entertain us, but it isn’t until this Slow and Steady collection that she shares her personal journey through her fabric. To celebrate Tula’s 20th Anniversary Collection, she decided to share her own personal story with such a big milestone. Her story speaks to me in such a beautiful way with the things I want to do in my own personal life. I’m sure this story will speak to you too!
Do you remember learning life’s lessons from Aesop’s Fables when you were young or reading them to your own children? Aesop was known to be a slave and storyteller in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BC. That was a LONG time ago! The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare was something that always resonated with Tula. In Tula’s own words she says, “It’s a story about staying the course against all odds, championing heart and hard work over arrogance and giving it your all, every time. It is a story about focus and drive, integrity and determination.”
We can all relate to this! Can’t we? It’s a classic and there are some parts of the story that Tula bring to our attention in her newest fabric collection Slow and Steady.
Tula takes the story a little further, and mention that the Tortoise and the Hare are like one coin that has two sides. One side of the coin is the Tortoise and the other side the Hare. Is there maybe a little bit of the Tortoise AND the Hare in each of us. Do we personally struggle with feeling like we are in a race and just need to keep running and running incessantly without a break? We feel great from the progress then like the Hare we take a break. We decide that we have been working so hard and getting such great results that we just stop and don’t realize that life starts to pass us by. The quote below is on a coordinate of the Slow and Steady Fabric Collection that is called Clear Skies. Let’s keep those skies clear to see just what is out there in the world.
Do we sometimes take a slow pace and just ever so methodically get things done every day? Do we enjoy the journey and simple joys to feed our soul to keep our steady pace going like the Tortoise? The Tortoise has a big heart and keeps his heart strong by just continually keeping a pace. Feeling progress fuels our spirits no matter what speed we are going.
Tula mentions that the Tortoise represents heart and the Hare represent ego. Sometimes our heart and ego conflict with each other. We want to win and succeed don’t we? I certainly don’t want to win at the expense of others though. I don’t want to win for accolades.
I’m a personality not in competition with others. My life has been too difficult to spend any energy of mine focusing on others. I’m only in competition with myself and the person I was yesterday. I don’t know about you but my life has not been an easy one. I’ve been told that what I have experienced in my lifetime is unreal in terms of trauma. I am just proud to be the person that I am today. I’m proud that I am a survivor. I am proud that I am a good mother. I’m proud that I get up everyday, take care of myself and others, I think if my mom would be alive today that she would be proud of me too. I’m glad that I can find simple joys in life and appreciate them. I like to surround myself with things of meaning reminding myself of who I am and who I can become.
Sometimes we can be the type of people that are in competition with others or ourselves. Both can be a dangerous path. With a person like me, being in competition with myself, I have to be kind to myself and benevolent. Do you think that you need to be kinder to yourself? If you are not going to be kind to yourself then who will? We don’t need to be victims; we just need to be ourselves. We need to overcome whatever tiny thing it is that is pulling us down. But most of all don’t be the one pulling yourself down. Tell yourself how wonderful you are, be kind to you!
Tula truly inspires me! Like the heart shape above is a coordinate piece from the Slow and Steady collection. If you look closely at the pattern it is the Tortoise’s shell. Don’t you love surrounding yourself with meaning. Sometimes I’m like the Hare and think I need to go fast to achieve something but it really is the slow steady pace of the Tortoise with blind faith that gets us where we want to be in life! Does she inspire you? I’m going to make something extra special with this fabric collection that not only represents Tula’s story but represents my own story. It is a story I want to share with my children. What I make with this collection will sit out everyday to remind me that life isn’t a race but to be slow and steady in my personal and life goals.
Tula says, “The tortoise represents that magical thing in all of us that drives us to do the thing that we NEED to do even when there isn’t any evidence to support it. The tortoise is blind faith, he continues on when no one is looking. He keeps marching forward when no one expects him to win.”
That just resonates within me! Does it resonate within you? I am no one special and no one is watching me. Everyday we get up and do our thing that we need to do. There is a magical thing within each of us that speaks of our integrity to be true to ourselves and take care of what we need to do. There isn’t evidence that what we do today will give us a good result tomorrow but… we do it because we know we need to. Let us all keep marching forward not because we are going to win or receive accolades but because we know what we are doing is right.
I have dreams and I’m sure that you have dreams. Here is the word dreams on the racing flags coordinate of Tula’s Slow and Steady collection. Are our dreams a race? No. I don’t know if our dreams will come true, but I do know that if we are helpful to each other we can help our dreams come true. There are many people out in the world that their dreams our so simple and we can help those dreams become a reality. As we lift and encourage each other we can make a difference in our lives and the lives of others.
I’m grateful for a talented person like Tula that can reach into our hearts with her storytelling art and help us discover the best within ourselves. The items I create with Slow and Steady will be a token and reminder of just how I can become the best person that is within me.
As Creatives, there is always a struggle between getting it done fast versus doing it with the heart.
In reference to the Hare, Tula shares, “The Hare tells us that we can rest on our laurels and take it easy. The Hare needs other people to tell him he is good enough. The Hare doesn’t run unless there is someone there to watch him win. The Hare can win but will always get in his own way.” I don’t want to be an obstacle in my own path. May we always search deep to improve ourselves.
My hope is that I will slow down and keep my focus on doing things with my heart. We can truly succeed personally if we just do it with our hearts. I know that Tula does! I have never seen a person work so hard at what she does, sharing so much of herself with everyone. She is one talented individual with her art! She is able to express things that are at a cutting edge artistically in bright beautiful colors. Not only is she gifted in her art, but she knows how to quilt and makes art that works for us as quilters. Her fabric collections are cohesive taking every piece, color and motif designed for the end creator.
Tula is smart and savvy as a business woman and an example for us all to be a girl boss of our business and rock it! Tula is dedicated to making her customer, the end consumer, happy with what they purchase. She is kind and generous with her time to everyone. Tula just makes each one of us feel important to her. Feel connected to her, her story and her fabrics. She wants you to feel that way. She feels connected to you whether she has met you or not. She is constantly thinking about you and designing with you personally in mind.
One of the pieces of her collection say, “I’m a winner”. People asked her if she was saying that she is personally a winner. Of course she is a winner to all of us but more importantly to herself! Tula’s message is not that she is the winner, rather we are all winners as we balance the Tortoise and the Hare – the Heart versus the Ego within each one of us. This piece of fabric in my quilt, will remind me that I am a winnner and that I just need to keep moving forward in a Slow and Steady pace even when I don’t feel like it. I love to work hard and I want to work hard at a slow and steady pace. Life is a balance and sometimes we may get a little unbalanced but we can steady it and that’s part of life.
I hope you will enjoy seeing EVERYONE create items from her fabric collection. I will teach you everything I know so that you can make something similar for yourself. Your item might be different because it will speak of your journey and to your heart. I can’t wait to see all the creations that you make that will inspire all of us!
If you are new to quilting, I’m going to teach some basic quilting with Tula Pink’s fabrics. Remember it is a slow and steady pace and we are not in a race with others but just ourselves. You don’t come into the world knowing how to sew or quilt. I remember Tula saying something like, “What’s the worst thing, I can do? Mess up a piece of fabric?”
For this article, Tula’s closing message is, “Creating anything is always a struggle between these two opposing sides but if I have learned anything at all through 20 fabric collections it’s that the heart has a lot more to say than the ego and that people can feel the heart in everything that you do, whether they know it or not. I have learned that you have to try, every time, you have to earn it every time. I have learned that the more you do something the better you get. No one is born perfect or complete you build up to it, slow and steady, one foot in front of the other.”
What you think about Tula’s Slow and Steady fabrics and her message? What speaks to you from the fable the Tortoise and the Hare? What personal message do you embrace within your heart? What have you experienced in life that has helped you grow?
Thank you Tula for sharing so much of YOU with everyone! You have deeply inspired me! Each and everyone of you inspire me!
Please share,
To Watch the Interview of Deanna with Tula click here!
Want some eye candy of lots of items made with the Slow and Steady Fabric Collection? Click here to see our post about Slow and Steady Tula Pink Inspiration!
To see all of the products that we carry for Tula Pink click here
Parents of Special Needs Children are some of the strongest people that I know. We are a breed of people that are different from others. We are tired, exhausted and spent being pulled in many directions. There is enormous responsibility because no one is going to take this path with our child.
Disappointments began when we noticed that our child’s growth or development just wasn’t quite right and then more disappointments to follow when least expected.
We celebrate and appreciate moments that parents of typical children may never even notice. We grow in ways that we never imagined, developing abilities beyond our foresight. Being consumed taking care of others, we may not even know who we are anymore.
We may feel nervous asking ourselves are we doing too much, too little, the right thing, or are we focusing on the completely wrong thing? We try not to step on anyone’s toes as we advocate for our children. How do we network to figure out what is right for our child to reach their potential?
We juggle the impossible of raising our child/ren to their fullest potential, accessing resources for their development, their siblings, our spouse and finally ourselves.
I remember when my son was diagnosed with a disorder that would most likely cause significant development and medical issues for him. I was stunned, numb while activated to search everything to learn what I needed to do to help him. How was I stunned, numb and yet activated to a higher level than I have ever been?
During that time in our little family, our life revolved around his diagnosis. Time passed with his disorder became just a part or appendage of our family that was a part of us. Later we got in the rhythm of existing as a family but taking care of the specials needs when needed. Occasionally there would be unexpected hiccups that we hoped wouldn’t impact our son. Naturally we shifted our routine to mobilize but then those hiccups became routine.
Somewhere though I think on this path we tend to lose part of ourselves taking care of critical along with other needs of the family. Larger life ordinary events creep in, we lose a spouse, death of a parent, divorce, remarriage, step-children, more children, etc.. We once again shift our family unit and the needs of our unique family into these unexpected events.
Something happens to us as we drive and push the momentum of caring for so many others that we sometimes stop feeling or at times feel too much. We disappear, become invisible and our needs …. well our needs – we don’t even think about our needs anymore. That is when I have seen us lose something deep within us.
Then we become so strong and caring for a chronic disorder that people don’t come around to help anymore. We are long forgotten and even avoided. When someone asks us how we are doing or how our child or family is, they are being polite but don’t really want to know and truthfully couldn’t even imagine what our world is even like.
We need less strength at time and allow ourselves to soften to feel parts of the world that we don’t even notice passing by us. It is then that we begin to reach out and participate in them again.
I will be writing for the next 31 days in the month of October about strategies that can enable us to avoid chronic dullness or burnout as caregivers of long term disorders.
I’ve been a parent of a special needs child/ren since 1996 and I may have another 50 more years ahead of me. As parents of special needs children, we can relate to each other in ways that our own extended family members can’t possibly understand.
We are all in different stages of this journey. Let’s break those stages down and when a stage might return we can understand what we need. I want to help identify those stages, feelings to empower ourselves with strategies to get through those stages in the healthiest way possible.
I want to learn from all of you too, your comments and shared journey is important. I learn from my experiences and other caregivers I know with special needs children and what strengthens them.
I want you to know that I know you are out there and even though what I may speak of in a particular stage may not be you, I want to learn how you get through it. I have crossed paths with many exhausted caregivers that just didn’t know where their next drop of energy would come from. We spend a couple hours sharing and I think we both go our separate paths strengthened.
I will share the deepest part of my heart with you and I hope that you will feel comfortable sharing parts of yourself. I have been through a lot; have seen a lot and I am certain that you have too. Share your story… share your heart and what has helped you during different parts of your journey. We will all grow together… you can comment below or email me personally at deanna@stitchesquilting.com For this first post please know that there are many of us that feel different but similar things at different times and find comfort that we are not alone.
Let’s start this journey together and identify more strategies for our future. Let’s not just exist but live uniquely as we navigate the windy paths. Each day will have a message and then printables that you can print off and write down how your unique path has carved you and how you have carved out your own journey.
All the BEST!
Deanna
For the 31 post summary of Strengthening Parents of Special Needs Children click here.
Summary of things that would describe this quilter:
Blogger & Owner of Stitches Quilting Online Store – Live in Salt Lake City Utah – Born on a farm but now live in a city – Quilter – DIY – Sewist – Pattern Writer – Surface Pattern Designer – Graphic Design – Special Needs Mom – Proud Handy User of Power and Hand Tools – Hand and Machine Embroidery – Heirloom Maker – Long Armer – Jewelry Maker – Gadget Lover – Technology Lover – (I use every gadget to its fullest potential to not waste money – I like to read the entire manual) – Social Media Networker – Laid 2 stories of my own hardwood floors – Redecorated husband’s law office with DIY Repurposed Stripped Filing Cabinets in Industrial Look – Thrift and Repurpose Lover – Positive – Appreciates Antique, Vintage, Simplistic Items – Bargain Enthusiast – Spiritually Oriented – Survivor – Creative parent – Gentle Spirited – Non Judgmental – Divorced and Happily Remarried for 12 years – Mother – Practical – Enjoy making Household Products and Makeup – Novice Photographer & Videographer – Entrepreneur – Firm Personal Believer in the Quote, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.” (Often in this day and age we live a life of such over excess.) – Generous and Love to Share what I have with Others – Always and Endlessly trying to improve myself to be a better person.
My love of sewing started when I was a young girl and I actually made a vest with my grandmother on a non-electric foot treadle sewing machine!
As a teen, I loved finding a pattern to make something to wear or a gift for someone else. I always felt a sense of accomplishment after I made something, although I have to admit that sewing my own clothing was disappointing at this age.
I learned about quilting when I was in high school and I know this is mind boggling but my first quilt was a whole cloth hand quilted quilt. I started it in the 1980’s which the shiny fabric and design dates my selection, I found hand quilting relaxing although I have to admit that family members helped me finish it as it was a huge undertaking.
My next sewing adventure that I loved was making Halloween costumes for my children. It was something that my girlfriends and I enjoyed doing with our children and my children loved how I could make their imagination come alive with fabric. My children loved the super hero capes and everything else I sewed for them. Just a few years after I had my first child, a good friend, Randi Welch, taught me how to cut fabric and piece it back together again to create a quilt top. I loved it and embraced the craft with precision. The quilting generation at that time taught you to always press your seams to the side with the darker fabric. I lived in Galveston Texas at the time, with no fabric store on the island with my only access to Walmart fabrics and one small darling quilt store that I didn’t feel I could afford the quality quilting fabrics. Not having much of a budget for gifts during my 1st husband’s school and training, I made every gift for each holiday to extended family members. I loved giving gifts that were personal, useful and handmade. We didn’t have much money so I was very frugal with what I made.
I never lived in a place where I had easy access to trendy quilt stores and especially in Yuma, Arizona. I found myself having to travel three hours to Phoenix or San Diego to try to find quality quilting fabrics. Even though there was a quilting store in Yuma, they did not sell Moda fabrics, and I really loved the style of Moda fabrics. After my divorce in 2002, I invested some money into opening a 2,000 square foot brick and mortar quilt store.
I loved my Shoppe and it was a second home to my three young boys. When the fabric started arriving, I was in ecstatic and loved touching and arranging displays. My Shabby Chic Italian themed Shoppe attracted new young quilters along with the snow birds that would travel to Yuma for the winter months. The Shoppe had a large variety of classes available, but was ALWAYS open and room for someone to just plop in with their sewing machine to stitch there and socialize instead of being alone at home. The Shoppe had a beautiful area for children to play that had a custom crafted stucco Italian playhouse as the central feature along with dolls, quilts, tea sets, dress up clothing, legos, TV’s gaming and more.
It was darling because no child ever wanted to leave my Shoppe. After a mother would make her selections, we could see her nervously approach the child to say it was time to leave, and the child always protested. The mom would have to say to the child five or ten more minutes and then nervously walk the Shoppe and visit with others going back to retrieve the still resistant child. People loved to come to the Shoppe although leaving the Shoppe was often difficult. Every month I showcased a local ordinary quilter’s work and displayed all their pieces in the store. The Shoppe evolved monthly with new quilts from designated local quilters of the month let alone the beautiful samples for the fabric, books, pattern and notions being sold.
One of the hardest things I did was close the Shoppe, my youngest child sustained a traumatic brain injury at 11 months of age from riding a horse. He was paralyzed on the right side and had to learn everything over again and I already had one autistic son diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosiss . I knew I needed to focus all my energies to my children and it was costing so much to have other people run the shoppe. I remarried and moved to Utah. I had no idea how much fabric the sweet employees and snow birds had packed up for me after my son’s accident. Unknown to me these boxes traveled with me from Arizona to Utah. After getting my master’s degree 2008 and being the practical person that I am, I decided to re-open the Shoppe online with the boxes of bolts of fabric newly discovered from the store. The fabric sold like hot cakes because by that time the fabric was highly collectible and out of print.
After selling enough fabric, I saved up to buy a long arm quilting machine. I always wanted one and would only machine quilt my quilts on my domestic machine. I had a friend, Renae Haddadin, at Quilts on the Corner, that encouraged me that I could operate a long arm machine and after admiring them for years, I finally bought one in 2010. I don’t care to long arm for other people but love to long arm for myself and teach others how to long arm quilt tops they would make in my studio.
I choose the name of “Stitches” for my business in 2002 but after reopening it in 2008, I had to add “Stitches Quilting” to the name in Utah. The name Stitches represented happiness and lightheartedness. I am a glass half full kind of gal, and the one that looks at things through rose-colored glasses. I am one of those positive “Tiggers” that seem to naturally annoy “Eeyores”, although when I sense an “Eeyore” is with me, I am sensitive and naturally limit the positive annoying “Tigger” within me.
One thing that I love about quilting is the connections it brings with other people. Either making a gift by hand or building relationships through spending time to teach someone how to quilt those connections naturally come. I have domestic machines that are always available for people to come over and sew with.
I wouldn’t be able to even count the number of quilts I have made in my lifetime or the number of people I have taught to quilt. I’m apprehensive to just show you quilts I have made, as it isn’t the quilts that I work hard at making but connections with other people and impacting others’ lives through quilting that is important to me. Do you feel the same way about your quilts that each one is a personal journey of growth or meaning with an entire story behind it? An extremely simple quilt of mine may have the most amazing personal impact in my life based on why I was making the quilt and what journey I was on in my life at the time.
Many people think that they can’t quilt, based off of negative impressions say from their home ec class. Nothing thrills me more than to share my enthusiasm that anyone can do anything they set their mind to. Nothing is as difficult as it ever seems when it is broken down into sizable pieces. Especially for quilting because anyone can embrace it at any level as really it begins with simple sewing of straight lines. I love to teach people and even children that what they have told themselves from past experiences that they can’t do they really can do and are capable of anything if they have the faith and encouragement to try. Were you someone that didn’t think you had a skill set or thought it would be too difficult that made you apprehensive to enjoy quilting or something else in life?
Quilting is also a hobby that is simple or challenging as one wants. Each quilt is uniquely personal by learning new techniques, using different materials, fabrics, threads or expressions of what one loves at the time. That is what I love about quilting is the connections you make with others and that the craft is as easy or challenging as you want it. I now no longer need a pattern to make anything. Someone can just show me a picture or doodle of something and I can personally make it or teach them how to make it. I love the challenge to create my own patterns based off of the fabrics available, project needed and limitations existing. I find that sometimes the limitations we are given is what draws out the most creativity that is within us. Do you feel the same way? What is the simplest quilt you have made and then the most challenging? Do you find your emotional attachments of the quilts you make are based on the complexity of the quilting?
This blog is dedicated to teaching others what I have learned from many years of quilting and “stitching through life”. I fiercely believe that if someone buys fabric from me that I don’t want it to sit somewhere unfinished because they are overwhelmed by the project or just in need of some encouragement. I believe in supporting those that purchase things anywhere so they are used in that the work of our hands can delight the souls of others along with making ourselves feel uplifted and good.
A blogging tip from me at this time of developing my own blog is to make sure your branding is carried through all of your social media. Social media is a free place to draw others to the things we love. Make your email, usernames of all accounts the same along using the same profile picture and banners on every social media platform. Even if you are not comfortable with a certain social media platform and not nearly ready to even use it, save the user name so it is consistent with all your other social media accounts. One can also really polish their social media networking by inserting hyperlinks into the bottom of your email signature including social media icons, a photograph of yourself and logo of your brand. (photo) What blogging tip do you have to share, because I have a lot to learn including that this blog post should be shorter in length?
Another quilt blogging tip is to join our #Quilt Bloggers# Pinterest Group Board where we can pin our blog posts to and then each member of the group will repin each other’s group pins posted to the group Pinterest board. Email me at deanna@stitchesquilting.com to request to join.
For a quilting tip – take care of yourself meticulously now so that you can continue to quilt and share with others you love for a very long time. When I say take care of yourself, live a gentle life of balance, keeping in mind that a healthy physical, emotional and spiritual well-being will give you more time to quilt and create giving you extended years of health. I also believe in making your craft a family social affair to spend time together. What life or health things do you think can extend your ability to quilt a long and healthy life. My children always played right with me as I created things sometimes with them joining in to help and sweet gentle boundaries were always set to not touch the rotary cutter etc.
A quilting tip is to always have your sewing machine out or fabrics to cut. I reward myself with a bit of stitching after getting a ton of required demands of life done. But even that 15 minutes I may have been able to stitch something and admire the block or item gives me much pleasure. If you always have a small area available it is amazing what time can be carved out of a day while you wait for noodles to boil for dinner or whatever it might be. So have your machine or hand sewing project easily accessible. What do you think helps you make progress on your projects?
A quilting tip is that hard and fast rules of quilting may change through the years as access to quality quilting materials, techniques, technology and sciences evolve. (ex. the standard is now to press your seams open because thread and fabrics are of a very different strength) Summing it up don’t be so rigid on yourself. What quilting technique have you seen change through the years?
A great long arm quilting technique is to use Renae Haddadin’s “Red Snappers” to attach your backing and quilt to the leaders by just snapping away instead of pinning or sewing zipper leaders to your quilt top and backing. It saves a TON of time! Are you not amazed by the things that can still be invented in this quilting industry that has been around for centuries? Below is a video of Renae explaining how to use these “Red Snappers”! What an invention!
My dream is to make a complete cathedral quilt and have that quilt be on my bed in my later years when I can no longer quilt and pass on to another season and phase of life. But before then I plan on sharing what I have learned in my younger years with anyone that would like to join me on the journey and share their experiences with quilting and life. Attached is the picture of the cathedral window quilt that I have kept posted on my daydreaming board next to my sewing machine for years. What ultimate quilt do you day dream of making? What other life experiences have you learned from embracing the art of quilting?
Please comment below, I love to interact with people and hear the thoughts that you have. I certainly don’t just want to ramble but look forward to having a dialogue with all of you and learn the thoughts you have about quilting. I hope this article helps you learn more about me as the store owner of Stitches Quilting and author of “Stitching through Life” Blog.
Can’t wait to hear from all of you!
Happy Stitching!
Deanna
I was challenged to write this blog post as a member of the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Group. This is week 4 of the group and there are many other wonderful Quilt Bloggers that are a part of the group that you would enjoy reading about them and their blogs. There are also several valuable Giveaways that you can enter that are being used to promote this group of Bloggers. I can’t possibly thank enough the four group leaders that have inspired all of us to collaborate as a group and optimize our skills.
Yvonne
Quilting Jetgirl
Cheryl
Meadow Mist Designs
Stephanie
Late Night Quilter
Terri Ann
Childlike Fascination
My personal group leader is Terri Ann with Childlike Fascination and my group is called the Sewcial Swarm
Welcome to the final week of the 2015 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop! I’m so happy and thankful that you’ve all been here to follow along and check out all these new quilt bloggers along with us. Today I am excited to introduce you additional members of the Sewcial Swarm Hive that are posting in week 4:
Stephanie of quiltnparty.com
Jane of jollyanddelilahquilts.wordpress.com
Kathryn of upitisquilts.wordpress.com
I invite you to click and visit their blogs, and leave them a friendly comment to say hi. Bloggers appreciate comments so much; so many of us don’t have friends to sew with and connect to the quilting world virtually. Comments make the online quilting world go ’round!
What could be better than reading to a child wrapped in a kid friendly quilt? Reading couldn’t be more important to instill in our children; so making reading warm, friendly, and cozy in a kid friendly quilt just couldn’t be more ideal! They feel your love and warmth as you read to your children or grandchildren wrapped up in a quilt together. Not only can the quilt be used to cover eyes with anticipation, but the reading draws you and your child closer together. There are so many fantastic books to read! There is reading to babies, toddlers, grade school children, middle school and even high school teens. Maybe by that time we will need two quilts, one for us and one for the teen! The books to choose from are just endless in each of these age ranges. Each of our children have had their favorites and for Christmas one year we purchased a copy of their favorite childhood book, signed the front of the book with memories of reading the book with the child and how the book ties into the beauty of their individuality. What a great way to make your children feel loved and important to you than setting aside the time to read with them and enter their world with books that interest them.
Another way to help a child feel loved and appreciated is to make them a child friendly quilt to read those books in! TIP 1: Fancy quilts are not necessary; they will appreciate anything! TIP 2: A great way to learn how to quilt is to make a quilt for a child. That is one of the ways that I learned how to quilt was to quilt for my children along for my nieces and nephews. I love to do the quilting of the quilt with them right along side me. No surprises because I want them to see the way steps to build a quilt and constructed.
TIP 3: A child loves to watch a loved one make something extra special for them. Children playing along aside you as you piece the quilt top together is ideal. They can help in whatever way they can. My children loved to see me make a quilt for them. TIP 4: My children loved to help with picking out fabrics, designing a pattern, cutting pieces, ironing and sometimes piecing bits of the quilt together with guidance. All the children that I have done this with have enjoyed every aspect of the project, although when they tire of things and get distracted with other items, that gives me the time to get some real work in. TIP 5: Sometimes I involve them in the initial process and then as I build the quilt together, I continually show them it as it grows into what you designed together. They are just marveled…. marveled that you would do something like that for them and feel loved as you do it.
TIP 6: Now we don’t want to make the quilt too difficult and keep the pattern simple so the process goes quickly and it gets finished never becoming a UFO. TIP 7: The other reason we want to keep things simple is we want to get to the reading part of snuggling up with that child and read a book! We day
dream that possibly this quilt will be the quilt that they drag everywhere feeling that safe loved feeling when they are sick, traveling, or creating good memories with. TIP 8: Do we really need to hand stitch the binding? No, we don’t because if one of those hand stitches get worn out with use, then that binding is going to start to unravel. Can’t you just picture those cute little fingers irresistibly fingering a worn spot with the binding not attached to the back and the batting now showing! Do we really want unraveling quilts?
TIP 9: Some tips with piecing the quilt…. too many things to come apart and become vulnerable with time. Kids appreciate the memories that these quilts bring and treasure them so keep it simple so they stay intact. TIP 10: Thinking of hand quilting that project? No, resist the urge, the quilt is small but once again we really dream of them wanting this quilt when they are sick and washed properly without jeopardizing the construction of it. TIP 11: So use this opportunity to try a new machine piecing, machine binding, or machine quilting technique that we have been curious to try. AND for goodness sake…. please let’s just domestic machine quilt the quilt.
TIP 12: Don’t send the quilt to a long armer for months waiting for completion. TIP 13: I promise you can quilt a child’s quilt. Easy peesy and you will love it too – so lower those feed dogs on your domestic sewing machine. Quilting three layers together is NOT difficult – I will teach you just how to do it. TIP 14: Now we have to resist the urge to fuss over perfection, remember ladies we are NOT submitting this to a quilt show or entering it into the county fair. This quilt is for the beloved child in your life and you know what…. I bet if you are a great lady then there are probably lots of beloved children you have around you that you want to give a quilt of literacy to.
TIP 15: So let’s keep everything simple because the point of these quilts is to make those kids feel loved and to read to these kids we adore! You need time and money to run to get a book that you will to read to this child with this quilt. TIP 16: Don’t fuss over quilting details because you really want to sign the front of the book with a personal message that the child can read emphasising how important reading and the child is to you. Below you can see my 21-year-old son’s favorite book was Good Night Gorilla, and you can see the message I wrote for him in the images. I not only tell him that I love him, that reading is important but I also share why I think that book was so important to him because he had the same mischievous snuggly spirit as the Gorilla in the book, wanting everyone included and part of the party! TIP 17: An extremely shocking tip for you, please hand print the message in the front of the book instead of cursive. Kids are no longer learn how to read cursive in schools…. yes one of those lovely cut backs. It’s okay…. just be aware of it so that your adorable child will eventually read the book and your message too.
TIP 18: As you work on the quilt, think of things to jot down for front of the book that is unique to the child and your love of reading – Post It notes are handy in my sewing station for this.
TIP 19: Now picking out the fabric…. find out what the child’s favorite colors are…. dive into your stash… I know you have those colors in there somewhere. TIP 20: You probably don’t need to spend any money whatsoever. TIP 21: If you are new to quilting, be sure to go to a quilt shoppe or visit an online quilt shoppe to purchase fabrics. The fabric dyes are stable and the fabrics shrink together. TIP 22: Have a special fabric that is a family heirloom then incorporate it into the quilt! I promise… you don’t need to follow a pattern. TIP 23: Design your own and sweet ladies out there quilting is just about math and it is simple math – you can do it. I have an entire series of videos that I plan to create to help you through every ounce of this process and then I’ll be learning from you. I LOVE to learn from other quilters! They are the best ladies in the world – gentle spirits, always willing to share. TIP 24: I know this is controversial… but you do not HAVE to pre-wash your fabrics! I don’t saving loads of time with every single one of the quilts in these pictures never pre-washed. Guess what? That is more time reading than washing and then ironing those fabrics. Let the fabric, batting and everything else shrink together after you complete the quilt. TIP 25: You do not need to wash the quilt prior to giving it as a gift. I never have and guess what… every quilt that I gifted was loved and then washed many time. That saves you more time and I like the way the sizing in the fabric feels.
TIP 26: Now what could be a family heirloom – grandpa’s ties or handkerchiefs. There are so many items in your home to cut up and put into a quilt making your gift even more special than you ever dreamed. Remember when you were newly married or a new mom and you just had to get creative. TIP 27: Pull yourself back to that creative place and pull out things that you would like to see become an heirloom within an heirloom.
Attached are pictures of many quilts that I have made for my children and the books I LOVED to read to them. TIP 28: Notice the quilts are simple – I made them fast and I wasn’t worried about them being perfect. TIP 29: The purpose of the quilt was to get it in the hands of the child I loved.
TIP 30: I think my children, my nieces and nephews sincerely felt valued when I made a quilt for them. I’ve made quilts for the friends of my children to comfort during difficult times they faced for instance, a parent passing away to cancer in 6th grade to have something special representing memories. TIP 31: Giving a quilt is more than giving a gift of love it is giving part of yourself to that child permanently.
May we all celebrate the opportunity to quilt for loved ones or just special kids out there that need a little extra love. TIP 32: Let’s combine those quilts with a book to read because quilting truly can increase literacy. Right now I am enjoying curling up at night reading Jonathon Living Seagull by Richard Bach with my 13-year-old son. TIP 33: Not all children are natural readers but as life changes and my 21-year-old son is a now a ferocious reader and even though he isn’t living in my house, I know my quilts are with him in his apartment at college and that dreamer of a son of mine is curled up in the quilts I sent with him to college reading those books. The reason I know is that I’ve seen him time after time reading in his room with several quilts propping him up and covering him to make him comfortable in his reading positions. TIP 34: Make the quilt kid size friendly. It doesn’t need to be a crib size or a twin size….. there are other sizes… you just make it up! I like to think the size of the quilt is a Reading size…. something they will drag around the house with them. That size to me is maybe around 40 to 50 inches wide by 60 to 70 inches in length. Just wing it – you don’t have to be precise! TIP 35: Remember after you give the gift, you can always read to your children or grandchild via FaceTime or Skype. Learn how to use the technology that is available so that reading becomes a past time that goes away. We can still read to our loved ones even if they are far away!
May we enjoy the process of creating quilts and sharing our quilts with loved ones. May our quilts support our families as they grow up and then as our children launch in life knowing we did our very best at balancing being a good mother and parent to them with all the needs of life. Most of all…. my motto… may the work of your hands in every way delight the souls of others to help them grow the ways they need to. More than anything kids in the world need to feel loved and accepted – the kids in the world today face more than you can ever imagine. I’m dedicating this blog to affirming that the quilts we make for our loved ones make a difference and they really can improve literacy when we let them know how important the individual is to us along with how important reading is to us too. Let’s not allow reading to become a pastime with all the distractions of the world but use our cozy quilts to actually read with our loved ones and increase the self-worth of those we love.
Please share what are some of your most cherished books or quilts that you want or have shared with you loved ones! Let me know if you want a pattern or some fabrics for the quilts above. I can do any tutorials for you on my YouTube channel of making any of these quilts or a particular skill you want to build. Just let me know and I can’t wait to hear from all of you! Please I am very respectful to all quilters and their desire to pre-wash fabrics or wash quilts prior to giving them away. We all have different styles and please don’t let any of my time-saving tactics turn you off from quilting with literacy. It is always up to you to decide your style of quilting. I’ve always been a busy mom with kids everywhere and very often quilt for my love of others and to relax and unfortunately at the time of life with many demands and have to get to the hands on of parenting. So many seasons of life and we must enjoy each and every one of them!
Is Gardening like Quilting?
Is it possible to Quilt in our Gardens?
Could Gardeners deep down inside have budding skills to become Quilters?
Or are Quilters really deep down inside budding skills to become Gardeners?
As quilters, we naturally use our quilting skills in our outdoor gardens to create warmth for the exteriors of our homes.
How I love to get in the outdoors, especially during the spring with drizzling rain, moist soil, to dig in the dirt, making the outside of our home warm to delightedly saunter by feeling welcome. In the spring there are many weeds to pull, soil nourished before planting can be done. It is kind of like the concept that we have regular pieces of fabric then we cut them up and stitch them together to be a quilt.
Well at least that is what I try to do…. Actually I completely doubt that any human being would gather warm fuzzies as they saunter by, let alone even notice my home. I really wouldn’t want to have a house that stands out too much for people to feel bad they don’t have that yard.
So I just simply have a house that is sort of…… unnoticeable. Not such a bad idea, right?
I mean let’s get real, at times we do things to just pathetically blend in, AND trying to keep my gardens half-way decent for the neighbor across the street that has their house for sale.
I don’t want to have the house that stands out with the weeds and unrecognizable things growing from the earth. The house that children cross the street before they walk by because they aren’t certain about what’s with that scary growing house that might have rats and snakes lurking in the growth. Well at least that is what I am trying to do – to be unnoticeable.
Gardening a bed of flowers or vegetables is all about patterns and that is exactly what quilting is all about. Patterns, colors, with interweaving of different threads and textures are things consistent in quilting and gardening.
Four things that have stuck consistently as basic skills to develop are cooking, cleaning, gardening and quilting. The pioneers that our nation grew from relied on both of these skills along with others so they must be a good skill to develop. At least that is how I convince myself.
Let’s get back to gardening, because we are not made to only have one skill set. Especially as women, we were made for multi-tasking the constant needs of a family, work, play. So… if you are a gardener secretly you might really be a budding quilter deep down inside – and it may not have crossed your mind. I believe the reverse of quilters being budding gardeners may also be true. What do you think?
Let’s get the real truth out about me and gardening. The honest label would be a “black” thumb. There hasn’t been much that stays growing around me. I dreaded getting plants as a gift or purchasing them to then feel bad about myself because shortly they would die. I admired gardeners and was determined to change this aspect about myself! So slowly I learned some basic gardening skills. My niece is a master gardener with gorgeous long red hair! In my younger years, I used to pay someone to manage my garden beds knowing I was probably saving money by not having everything die. Paying people money to do something that I so badly wanted to learn was absurd especially considering how frugal I am! Then my gifted gardening niece with the long red hair would come every year helping me.
My niece helped but we also replaced all the plastic sprinkler heads with brass heads so the 3 Labrador retrievers would no longer chew up the sprinkler heads with white lengths of pvc pipe through the grass. It also helped to have the sprinklers turn on during the early hours of the morning, when the 3 labs were asleep in the house.
Deep down I believe in self-sufficiency, there are not many things that I can’t figure out how to do.
Each year, my niece taught me and I would watch her carefully. She would explain things before she did them wanting my flower beds to grow into blankets of blooms. She would let me know my soil wasn’t nourishing enough…. that my sprinkler heads are not efficient giving coverage to that area…. That I can’t grow that kind of flower in that hot and sunny space. I would ask her “Where do I go get fertilizer?” She would answer, “The dump…. a whole pick up truck load for $30.” I would be puzzled and think, “Really? I don’t just go to Lowes or Home Depot….? Hmmm.”
With both us deeply valuing frugality and resourcefulness, she taught me and through the years I listened…….. and grew. The listening part can be the most important part of growing.
You can see how my garden is growing now. I do it now all by myself with my sons. You can see the patterns, colors of different plants I used to complement one another to connect the beds with threads to grow.
I would love to listen to you share some thoughts so we continue to grow in different ways. Living all around the world, we all have different kinds of garden. Below is a beautiful picture of a succulent garden I took in Cambria, California this summer. What types of gardens do you grow? Let’s not forget our vegetable and herb gardens too. Please share what you grow in your region, we are all different in around the world and so are our gardens.
To those of you that are gardeners…. you may not know it but deep down could you be a budding emerging quilter? If you have admire quilting maybe this post can encourage you to try.
To those quilters out there, could we be a budding gardener? Some of us may already be both! What are you?
A flower garden of a quilt that I have always wanted to make is A Trip Around the World, here is a picture of a quilt I daydream making similar to:
This my stash of fabric to make this quilt?
What do you think of my colors and fabrics so far?
I do need to pause from quilting and do some catch up summer weeding…. My neighbors did sell their house…. I am very happy for them.
What kind of beauty whether through gardening, sewing, quilting, parenting or more enriches your life for the better?
May the work of your hands delight the soul,
There are just so many things to do in life with working, raising families, being a member of a family and our community that we need to focus on the right things in life. We live in a world where we are so distracted by the constant stimuli that we no longer focus on the truly important things in life. I have been blessed with many many obstacles in my life that I have learned to really concentrate on the right things in life and why. These obstacles have been challenges that I have embraced to my fullest to allow myself to be chiseled to be the soul that God intends me to be. Through this blog I will share with you things that have been set in my path that have made me to pause in life and truly focus on what is important. It is a time in the world to simplify and focus on what is truly important. I have found that through my challenges that I have developed gifts, skills and desires that I never imagined that I would learn in life. I never imagined that some of my most intense growth in life would come with the age that I am. But the refining has come and I have chosen to stay the good soul that I am and not allow difficulties to change my spirit but just allow my spirit to lift and grow in ways to help others. As I have faced the challenges that I have had through the years, there are many interests that I have acquired and would like to share with all of you. In the quiet moments, I have turned to quilting, sewing, crafting, re-purposing, cooking, photography, jewelry making and more to fill my soul with the emptiness that it might have felt with the beautiful people that I have enjoyed things with. I have always strived to have my home be a warm loving place of refuge and peace for my family to come home to. I have found by simplifying my life that I can live a more authentic life and have more cognitive space/awareness for improving myself as a person. Nothing makes me more pleased than to make or share something for my family members, loved ones, people in need or just simply for myself. I hope that I can share that love for the things I do with all of you in your homes to improve where you are in life. This blog is dedicated to sharing those ideas and lessons learned by stitching along through life. I say stitching because I am not always sewing but I am piecing the layers of life together to learn what I am intended to become and continue to evolve to be. We have so much to learn in life and hopefully here we can share some of the things learned to share with others. I have many posts ready to share that will be coming to you soon. There are Stitches Through Life Blog Categories in the upper left column and right side bottom footer of posts to wander through and be inspired and resourceful in life! The resourcefulness that we learn in life gives us confidence, builds self-sufficiency to have courage to do just about anything that we may have to face. May the work of your hands inspire the soul!
Threads of Topics that are Coming SOON!!!!!
AND I will always continue to post things about fabric, quilting, sewing, home products and more. That has always been a consistent thread of life and always around us to improve upon and enjoy.
I know I we can’t be completely self-sufficient in this life as we are interconnected and weaved into the society of our families, communities, and the world. Where ever we might be we can certainly carve out a piece of serenity no matter where we are.
Quilting is Therapy! When I had my storefront quilt store in Yuma, Arizona, I featured a local customer as Quilter of the Month and showcased her quilts in the shoppe. It was an absolute delight to see the gorgeous quilts come out of the closets and drawers to hang them beautifully around the store. I couldn’t wait each month to see the unique style of each quilter unveiled each to learn more about her.
One gal that I approached for Stitches Quilting “Quilter of the Month” having her quilts showcased in a future month was hesitant. She said that she loved piecing quilt tops together but that she rarely quilted and finished them. I told her it did not matter, that we wanted to see and display all her work. She said she didn’t care about finishing them because each quilt top of quilting was her therapy!
I agree 300% with that. Quilting is therapy! There is nothing like being discouraged in life and thoughtfully pause with beautiful fabrics, and threads to execute something your mind has envisioned. There have been many times that I have felt so downtrodden not knowing what to do, but in this confusion I would quilt and create while thoughtfully considering how to react to an event in my life. I remember those quilts so vividly and I am so deeply attached to those stitches. It was through those stitches that I decided how to rise above a situation that was challenging. Often I made quilts for other people at those times and I think that by serving another through my stitching, I was able to put my troubles into perspective.
I remember quilting while I was expecting my second child knowing that he had severe special needs (tuberous sclerosis) and wanting to wrap this child with my love when he arrived. I remember making a quilt when my little brother died to comfort my mother the first Christmas that he would not be with us. I remember making my mother an intricate quilt and so lovingly picking out fabrics and designs when we learned of her diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease. I made that quilt to manifest my love for my mother; that quilt laid over her as she progressed through the disease and I cared for her until her death. I cherish that quilt now in my home representing the bond of our mother daughter relationship.
I remember being bewildered at the thought that I was quickly going facing a divorce with three small children to care for. The youngest was three months old and the second oldest with very severe special needs. The thought of the challenges ahead overwhelmed me, but what did I do? I quilted. I quilted a simple quilt for my special needs son and as I stitched I knew that I would have the strength, dignity and resolve to face the challenges ahead.
I recall quilting in times of joy and anticipation to celebrate moments. I remember vividly creating quilts with carefully selected fabrics for people who I loved. I remember thoughtfully selecting fabrics to make a quilt for my fiancé and current husband. I wanted him to know how much I cared for him and appreciated his love. He was so delighted to see me come off an airplane with a quilt tied in a bow hoping that it was something for him. It was for him and how I enjoyed giving him something I created with my hands to represent my devotion to him.
Quilting is Therapy… there are so many challenges that we may face quietly stitching away while deciding our resolve or approach. Quilting is Therapy… in the friendships that we create as we stitch, share and dream together. I am so grateful for such a beautiful healthy hobby to embrace that helps me become a better person while doing something positive. Whether we stitch alone or with others, pull out a sewing machine, let it hum and sooth your troubles to become peace within your soul. Allow yourself to lay fabrics on the floor next to each other for hours deciding upon a beautiful combination that will express what you need to share. Give yourself the permission that no matter what you will face in life that you can still create and feel joy.
Stitch, find peace and be happy,
With Love,
Deanna
