New stuff

I have been working on my "Dear Jane" quilt for over 2 years now. Yes, I start and stop and fizzle and get excited again, and just get to busy to fool with it. Well this is a project I am determined to finish. I am a year and a half into a block of the month program with Stitchin Heaven
and while I love it, the colors are from the Civil War era. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Jane Stickle's amazing quilt, it is a medium sized quilt made during the civil war by a really incredible woman.(there is a tiny version of the quilt over there on the sidebar with a link to another Dear Jane group I am involved in) 225 of the most incredible blocks I have ever seen. Tiny blocks with the most phenomenal detail. My quilting mentor (Nancy Farmer) introduced me to it. I started mine during my husband's second Iraq deployment. I would get up early and make a block or two. It would help me focus...kinda pinpoint my thoughts for the day ahead. As I would finish a block I would wonder if Jane did something similar...her husband was gone for years and she had an entire farm to be in charge of. Unlike me, who heard from my husband at least once a week and got to see him on our little web cam, and got to watch his units progress on Fox News and for the most part knew he wold be home after 12 months (unless something horrendous happened), she got to do it alone on a farm. So as I was working away on my quilt block of the month with civil war fabric in muted colors, I would look over at my fabric and see Amy Butler, Heather Bailey, Joel Dewberry and Anna Maria Horner. Those are the colors of my era's war. Those are the colors I should be using. So....I am . I am doing 2 Dear Jane Quilts. One with the classic tone of Jane Stickle's original quilt and another loud and vibrant busy quilt with fabric from today. No I am not completely off my rocker. There is no time limit for this quilt....it is a slow one I am enjoying putting together. I get to hand sew and applique, and slow down a bit. I take my teeny tiny block out onto the front porch with a glass of wine and watch the kids play while dinner is simmering away on the stove. I take time to be grateful for the gifts the Lord has given me. It is nice to slow down a bit.

Now onto business. What do you think of the new little bag? I dig it. It is a version of one I carry (a green civie one with trains) for quick trips. As I slip that little bag on my shoulder and grab a chubby little hand to cross the street I keep thinking....how can I make this out of a uniform? Well, this is my first go at it. This is a flight suit and it is some really strange fabric to sew with. something about the flame retardant in it makes it like trying to sew liquid. With that said, I LOVE how it turned out. I have another flight suit that is on the table right now ready to become a great set of bags. I guess I better get off the computer and go sew, huh?

XO
Tia