oh january

Between the shelving books during the days and trying to exercise in the evening, life has been flying by. there are so many Christmas presents that I made for family and friends that i never blogged about [shame on me]. the one problem is that i did not take pictures of most of them [again...shame on me]. probably my favorite quilt that i have made to date is a zigzag one that i made for my sister [sadly...this is one of those presents i do not have a picture of]. i found this fabric online and absolutely fell in loooove with it. the mustard print on top might be my favorite print of all times.

i promise to have a picture asap [if my family up north would help me out with a few snapshots...that would be lovely].

i also completed a quilt the beginning of this month that meant a whole lot to me. i made my first tee shirt quilt for a dear friend. this was not just any tee shirt quilt. without getting into too much detail, one of mine and my husbands closest friends was taken to be with Jesus last september 7, 2010. Heath's death was difficult for family, friends, and out entire community. i felt honored and privileged when Heath' sister asked me if i would make a quilt out of his tee shirts. there are many elements that go together when making a quilt: cutting, piecing, sewing, ironing, more sewing, pinning, etc. i have come to see the importance of each step and the transformation from lifeless, random pieces of fabric, into something which breathes life and warm is the reason i quilt. however, completing this process with something of someone who meant so much, it was quite a different experience. while emotional, it was tender and refreshing knowing that these pieces of fabric that once hung on Heath's shoulders would be comfort and warmth for his dear sister.

I will be honest, i was not completely thrilled with the back. if i had more time and more space, i would like to think that it would have turned out a bit differently. this ended up being almost a queen size quilt thus marking the largest quilt i had ever completed. also, please forgive the pictures; it was a rainy day and we had to snap the quickest pictures ever. i am proud to say that one of my quilts has traveled the world and is now in Australia with Hannah. She is completing a DTS [discipleship training school] with the organization YWAM [youth with a mission]. if you would like to read more about what Hannah is doing, click here.

we have a busy weekend. wedding shower tonight and birthday party tomorrow for my husband's grandmother [i just finished up her present and threw it in the wash...i will post pictures on that present after she gets it!]. our little man turned 10 months old yesterday. i can't believe it. i love him so much, even his mullet and obsessive thumb sucking.