Christmas In E. Texas

This is the woman who makes Christmas come alive, my aunt Gale.  She is probably the most unselfish person I know and if it has to do with her family she has been known to go above and beyond.  Christmas decorating at Gale's starts in early November with getting all of the storage totes out and setting up all of the little vignettes (as the designers call it) on every flat service of the house. It is an all out production.  Every where you look there are snowmen, Santa's, Christmas flowers, Christmas themed platters and other serving pieces for "the company party" and "the family get together".  And then there are the sweaters!  Lots and lots of sweaters that make us smile and occasionally laugh.  My uncle who likes to act irritated about all of the hoopla is in the background asking, "are you doing this cause our Western kinfolks are coming?".  He likes to act the Grinch, but I think he truly enjoys all of it.  Christmas has so many fond memories and even more because of the love and support of this sweet woman.  It is always hard to be away from her house during the holidays, even though she tries to bribe me with her home cooking, we have to spend some time with out daughter and her family.  BUT next year is Christmas at Gale's house and the count down has already started.  Can't wait!!!   Oh and Gale don't forget the cornbread dressing, chicken salad, pink stuff and the fresh pimento cheese  and oh my gosh those chocolate cream pies that are to die for.  I love you and miss you more that you will ever know Ms. Scarlett.

Too Much Stress

This has been a difficult week for the teachers of Clark County School District.  I say teachers but that also includes the school nurses.  We currently have not signed a contract for this school year and the union and district have been in arbitration for what seems forever.  Either way it plays out there will be no winners and the school age children will suffer the most.  Although I have only worked for the district going on 6 years, never in a million years did I ever imagine that employees would be treated this way.  There is a possibility that the small raise we received back at the beginning of the year for graduate credits will have to be paid back.  This will be retroactive back to Aug and it will all come out of our January checks.  There is also a big possibility that although we had started this graduate program prior to all of this mess that we will not receive any type of compensation for our education or hard work.  So as I am doing homework and trying to hang on, keep a positive attitude and just trying to stay focused it is extremely difficult.
I know in my heart of hearts that I am very blessed to have a job that I love.  I do have a roof over my head, I did have supper and I am able to turn the heat on, turn the lights on, flush the commode and all of those things that we take for granted. I just need to give myself a pep talk while I am tying a knot in my tail to hold on to.

I need to find someone else to serve and forget about myself which will also eliminate some of the stress.  Forgive me for sharing this very trying time, but life isn't always pleasant.  Kind thoughts and prayers to all of you who are experiencing some overwhelming stress in your life tonight.

A Few Days Off

At a garage sale recently I found this old antique ladder.  On the side the person who had owned it had either carved or burned his initials into it so that made it even more special.  This is something that I have been looking for to put quilts on to display.  So while I covered the rungs of the ladder with cotton batting to protect the quilts, I found my "Crawford Family " quilt. This quilt was made in 1932 so that is 69 years ago.  It has both the Crawford and Singletary family names embroidered on the butterfly block.  I found my birth mothers under a green butterfly which read "Baby Joan, grandbaby".  My Aunt Nelva's butterfly is not aligned like the rest of the others, but that was Aunt Nelva, just a little off.  This quilt will eventually make it's way on the wall of my sewing room when I finally get time to measure and get it up.  I have to tell you this quilt gives me great pleasure and comfort looking at the butterflies but also remembering the people who are on the quilt.  Some of them known personally and others known by the stories that have been shared.  I initially was not going to put the quilt up but my aunt that I am so close too made the comment that we should be able to look at the things we love and those that have loved us.  Her comment accurately describes her home.  Mine is slowly becoming that safe haven to enjoy the things near and dear to my heart.

A Lesson Reinforced

Last week my sister-in-law passed away.  My mother and I drove about 9 hours to support my brother and attend the funeral.  It was sad, but also a time to reflect.  I had to ask myself if I was putting the important things first or just jumping from here to there trying to get things done. Were my affairs in order so my family could walk in and know what was going on in my life? My brother admitted that he had never paid a bill his entire married life, had no idea how much money was in the checking or savings account and was at loss to what he needed to do next. It was sad as my niece brought out hand made articles to see if anyone recognized them and could they tell her who had made them.  One item that was brought out was a hand appliqued baby quilt that no one knew anything about.  It made me sad that someone had spent so much time on something and forgot to acknowledge their own work by putting their name on it.  We all have special treasures in our lives that need to be identified so that they will mean something to someone else in the family.  My box of Pendleton shirts that I haven't been able to cut up and make a quilt with or the story of the china set that my parents gave me for Christmas a few years ago.  I too need to write things down so that these objects remain special and not  become just another box of dishes, shirts or a baby quilt with no name.

The Ugly Quilt

 I have never never seen an ugly quilt and always told new quilters that to boost their confidence.  As I mentioned in the last post I taught Karen how to put quilts together and I told her that there has never been an ugly quilt.  Fast forward to a very cold day in Barrow, Alaska when the phone rings, the conversation went like this:  What you doing? Sewing. Can you come down here? Yes.  JoLynn, you know how you said that you had never seen an ugly quilt? Yes.  Well I think I will be able to show you an ugly quilt! No way.  I walked down the hall to Karen's apartment and on the floor is the quilt top spread out in all of it's glory.  I took a minute to think of something positive to say, I swallowed, I kept my eyes down and then I broke out laughing.  Not just ugly but if you are from the south you know UGLY.  We laughed until we cried and then sat down and figured out what was wrong with it and then how to fix it.  I am proud to say that after removing a few wild and crazy blocks Karen again created a master piece.  But let me tell you that was one UGLY quilt!

Friends in all the right places

I have a very artistic, fun loving GRIT friend.  GRIT  stands for "Girl raised in the south".  Karen is from Arkansas and we met while we working in Barrow, Alaska.  A long way from Akansas and E. Texas!  Karen admired some of my quilts and laughed that my sewing machine stayed at the head of the table at all times but she really wanted to learn how to quilt.  What I found out about Karen is that: 1) she doesn't have to have a pattern she just wings it, 2) she can live with small imperfections and not rip them out and 3) she gets the award for the ugliest quilt ever.   However, the ugly quilt award is another story.  Here are some pictures of Karen's creations, most created without any pattern except the idea in her head!

Baby it's cold outside!

I have lived in different areas and have experienced "different" types of cold.  In E. Texas it is humid cold, in Nevada it is a dry cold and in Cut Bank, Montana and Barrow, Alaska it is just hands down plain out cold.  About 10 years ago give or take a couple of years the quilting world started seeing all of this beautiful printed flannel.  Before that it was mainly pastels, children's flannel or just something you would put into a sleeping bag.  When all of the new stuff came out I started collecting different colors and putting them away.  Eventually I had enough for two lap sized quilts.  One of the quilts is a raggy one, where the seams are on the outside, the other is just a simple pattern made with the new (at the time) flannel.  The other night I started pulling out my flannel quilts to put on the back of the couch and love seat.  Great for pulling over your toes when watching T.V. or just reading a book.  Unfortunately it puts me to sleep pretty darn quick!  The dogs love to see the flannel quilts come out also.  Both Stanford and Coco want to snuggle up!