Butterfly Block Finished!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Boy, sometimes life just takes off and it is all you can do to keep up. I can't believe it has been several days since my last post.

I have finished my butterfly block. Yeah! This block will go into the 2008 Wall Hanging Quilt which I believe will be going to a Breast Cancer Center/Hospital in Vermont. Working on this piece was a sheer delight. Not only because it is meant to encourage and touch the hearts of women, but the colors chosen for the project and the theme brought me joy during gray winter days. My goal was to have a block that depicted a garden scene where a handful of butterflies were enjoying a beautiful spring day- flitting from flower to flower enjoying the colors, scents and textures of every petal, every leaf. I wanted the block to have a sense of the new life and hope that each spring brings...a sense of joy.

I really enjoyed dying the ribbons, playing with different types of roses and pulling the idea together for the little butterflies. They were sewn down only in the middle with very small dark brown beads as their bodies so that their wings stand up a bit from the fabric. I even scattered a few teardrop crystals among the flowers for drops of dew - just for fun. I really like for people to continually find little surprises as they study my blocks. Below are a few close-ups of different areas.
I have two additional projects lined up at present. The first is for The Fiber Goddess. If you are not familiar with the Fiber Goddess, I hope you will check out her website. She has wonderful fibers, and she has invented the best gadget for making cords of all kinds and sizes. Great for jewelry, purse handles, framing silk prints on quilts, etc. I met Connie (the Fiber Goddess) at the Houston Quilt Market this past fall and she is such a sweetie. I have done some design work for Kreinik Threads and Connie invited me to do something for her, so that is next on my list. I plan to do something with her logo and hope to include crazy quilting and embellishing along with some punch needle work as well, using a lot of Connie's fun fibers. I also want to show examples of cording possibilities with her Diva Cord Maker. So far I have blown up Connie's logo to a size I feel appropriate for a wall hanging and now have to pull together fabrics for the background which will hold the logo and the side panels I plan to crazy quilt. It is always a intriguing journey as I create anything and this project will be no different, I am really looking forward to it!

The second project I have just jumped into, is another online swap - this time to make a Spring needlebook. I have been surfing the web and skimming through my books to get an idea of what I might like to do for a needlebook - there are so many different kinds to choose from. I will more than likely try to use a bit of my wool felt for this project. That would be great for needles!

My Bee group (Bee Crazy) is going on a sewing retreat next week to a wonderful retreat house in Wallis, Texas (about 70 miles away) called Premier Estates. We try to go there at least twice a year - about 8-10 of us. It is a Victorian house built in 1918 and staying there is like going back in time (although we do have all the modern amenities). It is such a tranquil little town and we have so much fun together. I plan to work on the silk memory book that I mentioned a while back. Each of my sewing buddies made two pages (@ 6" x 9") - a front and a back, which are beautifully embellished. I now need to design a cover for the book and decide how I want to put it together....it is a very special piece representing special people in my life, so the overall design must be as special as each one of these friends - it will take some contemplation for sure to come up with just the right thing!

I want to show you this beautiful piece I received today in the mail. This is from my online Valentine Swap partner, Karen in Seattle. It is a lovely tissue holder. It is so hard to see details in online pictures, but believe me this piece is just beautiful and her stitching is just exquisite. I will really treasure it. Receiving special gifts like this is what makes participating in swaps such fun. Front and back are shown.

As I have been reading and studying Matthew in my Bible study, I have gotten encouragement this week from stories about the disciples. They were so fortunate to walk with Christ and be a part of and a witness to so many miracles, but yet they often were preoccupied with materialistic things and saw things only from a human perspective. Take for example the feeding of the 5000 with five loaves and two fish in Matthew 14. They had seen Jesus perform many miracles but it never dawned on them that Jesus could supply their need for food when they found themselves in a desolate place with thousands of hungry people. They only saw with their eyes - little resources and so many hungry people. But, Jesus did just that, He supplied food for all of them using what little resources they had available. He blessed those resources and it even resulted in an abundance - as they had twelve large baskets full after everyone had their fill. As you continue reading in Matthew, the same situation arises again a short time later and again the disciples only see with their eyes... a multitude to feed and few resources. Didn't they just see how Christ fed the 5000? Isn't it amazing how we can get answers to our prayers, be given direction by the Holy Spirit in our lives, be so overcome with awe and gratitude, giving glory to God one minute and then be so "blind" and complacent the next? Jesus, again took a few resources - seven loaves and a few small fish, blessed it and fed four thousand with seven large baskets full left over.

I am so like those disciples. I can set my eyes on Christ and within five minutes, depending on the situations arising in my day, I have lost my focus and am grumbling about something! It gives me hope to see Christ's mercy and compassion - to know that he will bless my perseverence even though I may start over every five minutes!

Now I am off to snuggle up with the DH. It is very late and I am tired. Today I babysat for three adorable children - 3 yr. old twin boys and their little sister who is 1. We had a lovely picnic in their front yard and played outside with cars and rocking horses. What a delight to just watch the smiles of children and hear their laughter! I know I will have sweet dreams tonight.