Wednesday, February 6, 2013

February 6, 2013
Where Have I Been?

MY MOM



Well I am back and haven't given up on my blog just yet! i have been very busy with my mother. she went into congestive heart failure in october and slowly but daily went down hill. She died on January 17th. since we moved up north it was an almost 2 hour drive each way and i visited her almost daily. i have no regrets about that because my mother was such an interesting, funny and busy person. my sister, brother and i (as well as many others) will miss her greatly. i know that my life and personality has been shaped by the kind of mom she was. her love of crafts was unfounded. in 2009 her nursing home entered a blanket she had knitted for my brother (she almost always gave away everything she made) into a yearly contest that the state has for senior citizens. there are 12 winners (one for every month of the year) and she was chosen as Miss April! they had a wonderful dinner and award ceremony for the winners and i was so proud to attend. what made her knitted blanket so special was that each colored square had a state knitted in garter stitch. despite the fact that she had no vision in one eye and diminished vision in the other, she was able to follow the patterns for the states. her determination to not just DO things, but to do them well really allowed her to live the life she wanted. she didn't let anything get in her way when she wanted to accomplish something. I also have to add that the nursing home (Revera Nursing home in Rochester NH) always encouraged and helped all residents to get involved with as much as they were physically able. if they couldn't do it themselves they would find someone to help them. my mother was there for 12 years and my siblings and i have not one complaint about them. that, i think, is saying something! they were kind and so caring, not just to her, but to us also. it helped us immensely. it's a hard thing..this dying but we all have to go through it.


meanwhile..........while i was busy traveling to the seacoast and the mister was working, nora jean kept herself busy with her favorite tv channel.......animal planet. her favorite shows are about cats in the wild but she also watches bird shows with great interest.






this is what i've been working on since my mother passed. it is for my grandson, Paxton's 14th birthday. he and his sister got new full size beds for christmas and i thought it was time for new quilts. this quilt was huge and HEAVY! the center patches are cut out from old jeans that the mister and i have worn. i wanted it to be boyish but not babyish. i cut out a patch from my  light jeans for the far left corner......i will write the date and info on that patch. on the far right, i cut out a pocket from the mister's jeans that has his wallet imprint on it. i will tuck some money from the mister in that pocket. the next picture is the mister helping me sandwich that monster. boy, we were both soaked with sweat when we finally finished! that is the only part of quilting i don't like but that is because it is so hard to do. my hq16 quilted it beautifully. i made very simple cross hatch lines on it. it was too big to get fancy with and he, at 14, doesn't like frills. that's all that was left to do after i sewed on the binding was for nora jean to break it in. she put as much kitty love in it as she could and i thanked her profusely for the cat hairs.


i am working on my granddaughter, Kendall's, quilt next. i am using a tutorial from amanda jean at crazy mom quilts. i am using all plain mostly kona cottons for it. these are the colors she wants in her room and i figure we can pick out a nice print for her curtains. it will be as big as pax's but it shouldn't be as heavy because i'm not using any jeans! i'll post my progress in the next blog. her birthday is next month and i'm determined to finish it for her. btw, go to amanda jeans blog.....its really great! she is a prolific quilter with a wonderful eye for color and patterns. thank you for the tutorial amanda!

well, that's it for now. i will be writing much more often now. today i am grateful for all of my family and friends. i am glad my mother is at peace and that i was able to share her last days with her. i am so very grateful for father dan. his kindness and enthusiasm warmed my heart and was much needed. i am especially grateful for the mister's support during this sad time and of course, the comfort of nora jean.
i'll write again soon, nancyb


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