Have you ever wanted something so badly that it felt as if your heart literally hurt and ached? Usually such a yearning comes from the desire for personal relationships... whether it is a longing for a spouse, a friendship, or probably the ultimate of yearnings... the wish for a baby.
Before we were pregnant with our oldest son, we actually had a miscarriage. It was so early in the pregnancy that we barely had time to comprehend it ourselves, much less share it with family and friends. Even though the pregnancy was only in it's first weeks, the loss was still very real, especially since we had been trying for a while. After having gone through such a loss, I ended up coming out on the other side with a deeper understanding for others who have been hoping for, praying for, longing for, and even aching for that wee little set of ten toes and ten fingers to rest in their arms... and for some reason it just hasn't happened.
A while back a friend of mine had shared with me that they had been longing, hoping, praying, and aching for their own wee one... and for NINE years! There is a verse in Proverbs that sums up that very feeling... "Hope deferred makes the heart sick"... I so get that, I understand this, and I feel it. I especially get it for those that are in that place right now. Did you know that neurons have been discovered in the heart? With that being said, it sheds a new light on the depth of feeling that ache,
...BUT.....
... the turn in this story is that there is a "but" to the rest of the story! The verse in Proverbs doesn't just stop at the heart being sick part, but there is a second part of this Proverb... "but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life"... and the story of my friend does not stop there either! After nine long years of waiting, my friend has just welcomed her ten fingered and ten toed wonder into the world!
The really amazing thing is that just weeks before my friend had shared her news, I had started this quilt. I had no particular plans in mind for this project at that time, or even a particular recipient, but as I read through her announcement email, I then knew why I had started this. Sometimes you just know things in your heart before they happen, and only after the fact realize why your heart led you the way it did.
If you are, as they say in German, "built close to the water", then I'll give you your chance now to transition and perhaps grab a tissue, while I give you a few stats about my "Scrappy Windmils"/"I Spy" quilt:
Quilt pattern: "Scrappy Windmill" quilt from Judith Dahmen as featured in Issue 10 of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine.
Started: June 2015* (I had a three month waiting period for the batting. Otherwise this might have been finished sooner!)
Fabrics: Kona Cotton white and favorite fabric scraps from my stash.
Finished quilt size: ca. 50 x 60 inches (ca. 125 x 150 cm)
Backing: Zen Chic, "Swinging" and Julie Comstock, "Cameras", various scraps.
Thread: Aurifil cotton 50 wt white
Binding: Basic Grey grunge, grey
Once the sun, moon, and stars had once again aligned to snap a few pictures, it was really fun for me to do a little "I Spy" quilt photo shot with our little guy. As you can imagine, he was all over the place like any normal three year old boy, and "can you put your leg down", "hold still", "no, don't jump" were repeated over and over again... but I think that in the end, he was a pretty good little model, don't you think?
He even pretended to take a nap on the quilt... (you can almost hear the fake snoring, can't you?)
With such an amazing story of a longing that has now been fulfilled... is it any wonder that this little bundle of joy's middle name is... Joy? Tickled pink happy for you, Jules!
Do you have any long-time-in-the-waiting stories?
Linking up this week with WIP Wednesday and Let's Bee Social.
I finished a quilt top!!!... it might come as a little bit surprise, but can you guess which one?
I was able to make a good amount of progress on my "planned creativity" goals during our summer vacation time, and since I've been working on THREE quilts at the same time, there's about a 33% chance at guessing which one is now a finished quilt top... so, what's your pick?
1.) The "Swell" quilt?
2.) The "Facing East" quilt? or
3.) The "Scrappy Windmill" quilt?...
If you follow me on Instagram, then you might have a pretty good idea already, but if not, how about a little hint?... the quilt top is the smallest of all three quilts that I have been working on, and it's the one I started last!?!... dromroll, please for my Scrappy Windmill quilt top!
The fact that I had decided to make a baby quilt, which was smaller than the orginal version, really helped things come together so quickly. (wow, can you believe that I actually decided to make a quilt smaller instead of making it bigger?!?) The paper piecing seemd to whiz by, not to mention that I had already gotten a lot finished before I left for vacation. What actually felt like it took the longest was peeling all those papers out of the back once it was all put together! NOTE: this is the point where I discovered the BIG downside of paper piecing.
On my Facing East quilt I just charged through without completely reading through the part of the directions that said to leave the paper in until the blocks are sewn together... it was only first on this pattern that I realized that little, but important detail! On one hand, I understand that leaving the paper in helps keep the shape of the block together nicely without stretching the design, but I have to say, that peeling the papers out of the seams was just downright UNPLEASANT!
I had actually tried peeling the paper away from the outside edges of the blocks before stitching them together, but this was also not the best solution. I did notice a slight difference, and I probably could have pulled it off, but decided to stick with the "if it's not broke, then don't fix it" rule. I also tried shortening the stitch length, but from my opnion, it didn't exactly make a world of difference with the paper removal either. Hmmm... definitely some things to think about before jumping into another paper piecing project!
Size: Finished quilt top size approx. 50 x 60 inches (ca. 125 x 150 cm)
Fabrics: Kona Cotton White, Lizzy House, Heather Ross, and other various scraps
Backing: Planned pieced backing with bright prints, waiting for batting
Pattern: Scrappy Windmills by Judith Dahmen as featured in Issue 10 of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine
They say that hindsight is twenty-twenty... do you have any "the picture is clearer" after-the-fact stories to share?
Linking up this week to WIP Wednesday, Let's Bee Social, and Scraptastic Tuesday.
Before I left I was actually able to make a good amount of progress on my Scrappy Windmill quilt and am debating back and forth on whether I should make a smaller version for a baby quilt. It's actually not because I've lost steam, but becasue I think that with so many fun and sweet prints that this would be adorable wrapped on some snuggly, little bundle of joy. I had also thought that this would be a fun "I spy" quilt... can't you just imagine being tucked in with a cute toddler searching together for cats, strawberries, foxes, trees, glasses, crickets, clothespins, frogs, cameras, tiny mice on bikes, snails, tea cups, hedgehogs, birds, and more?
I've still not decided if I will keep the brown blocks in or not, but because I had them made up, I kept them in for the photo. I'll of course need to add a few more blocks even for a baby size quilt... what do you think? With enlarging my currents WIP's it might also be nice to finish something a little smaller instead. Speaking of my other WIP's... remember that little stack of snippits I had? Well, take a look at them now:
As crazy as it might sound, I actually liked working on three different projects at a time. What about you, do you work on multiple projects at once or do you stick to one thing at a time?
Linking up this week to WIP Wednesday, Let's Bee Social, and Scraptastic Tuesday
