You never know what surprises may lay around the corner–or up your husband’s sleeve.  My Mother’s Day surprise was a day trip to Paducah, Kentucky.  My non-quilting readers may not see any significance to visiting Paducah, so let me tell you that it is home to the National Quilt Museum, as well as several great quilt shops (including the renowned Hancock’s of Paducah.)

So there was lots to do in Paducah!  We went to the museum first, and I was a little disappointed that pictures are not allowed–but not surprised.  My favorite quilt is pictured here, on the creator’s website.  It was much more awesome in person–my reaction was, “Now that’s a quilt!”

Here’s a link to the museum’s website that talks about the current exhibits.  Some of the modern quilts were not really my cup of tea, and in some cases I thought, “If it’s okay to machine quilt with slightly wavy lines, I could do that!”   The second half of the modern quilts featured  the work of Emiko Loeb, and she makes some really cool reversible log cabin quilts.  This page on her site explains exactly how she does that.

Having made a few miniature quilts myself, I spent a good amount of time in the miniature quilt collection.  Some were so small and complex that they were almost too small.  I found a few pictures of my favorites online, but you really can’t appreciate the detail without seeing it in person from 6 inches away.  I got some good ideas on how to quilt miniatures.

Once we left the museum, we ate lunch and then went to Quilt in a Day, which is one of Eleanor Burns’  shops.  It features discounted fabrics, which was right up my alley!  I found several good pieces for baby blanket backing, and some other fabrics that caught my eye.  Then we went to Hancock’s–I was expecting it to be expensive, but I said, “We can’t come to Paducah and not go to Hancock’s!”  It has 3000 square feet of fabric, and does a huge amount of mail order as well.  They had several quilts hanging from the ceiling as samples–this one was my favorite:

I actually did purchase fabric there–some bolt ends that were discounted.  I discovered at checkout that this Hancock’s has nothing to do with the Hancock Fabrics in Texas.  The man at the register said his family had owned Hancock Fabrics, but several years ago they sold those stores, and now operate only the one in Paducah.

It was a great day in Paducah–maybe someday you can go too!

Actually, life is always changing, but at certain momentous events, we really notice the changes.  This Saturday, our daughter graduates from college as an Honors Scholar, having also completed an Honors thesis.  We are so proud of her accomplishments, her perseverance the past four years, and the spiritual young woman she has become.

For five years we’ve had one or more children in college, but now that is about to change.  College was a good time, one with regularly scheduled visits back home.  A time when we could go visit there, meet their friends and teachers, and get a taste of what they were experiencing.  A structured time of classes, schedules, deadlines, and tests to be conquered.

We have an idea of what life after college looks like–our son graduated last year, and has been putting his computer skills to work in a position several states away.  We haven’t seen him as often as before, but talk on the phone often to catch up on things.  He has done well with all the changes in his life:  new job, new state, new place to live.  Life after college brings its own challenges of big decisions, learning about co-workers, and just taking care of yourself and your stuff.

We keep reminding our daughter that although we cannot see the future ahead, God can.

For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.”

Isaiah 41:13  ESV

But he would feed you  with the finest of the wheat,
    and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

                           Psalm 81:16  ESV

There’s a new quilt coming together on my design wall!  It is a kaleidoscope pattern done with plaid scraps and tan/beige backgrounds.  Here are my sample blocks: (Just an aside here–ALWAYS make at least one sample block before spending hours cutting out pieces for a whole quilt…because you just might change your mind, and make a pillow instead!)

I originally saw a picture of this quilt on Pinterest, and tracked it down to the original source here.  I was intrigued that it was made with thrift store shirts–if the price is right, I also look at clothing as a source of fabric, and have found some really good stuff that way!  I used two shirts for this quilt, but the rest is plaid scraps from my stash.

I want to give you some tips on how to cut pieces from irregular scraps.  Obviously, squares are not so hard, because you can just measure and follow the lines of the plaid.  Triangles, though, can be more difficult.  Here are some photos of how I manage this:

This first photo shows four random plaid scraps.  Once you confirm they are all wide enough for the base of the triangle, stack them with the bottom edges lined up, as in photo 2:

 

   After cutting the initial triangles, one of my pieces that had been folded yielded another triangle:

Obviously, if you have a larger scrap that you can cut strips from, your triangles will look more like this:

Notice that the very tip of the triangles is cut off–that’s okay!  There is still plenty of seam allowance, and the points will be trimmed away in the end.

So, there’s a look at true scrap quilting, not with fat quarters or yardage, but random bits left over from sewing garments.  These are the kind of scraps I have, and I do my best to save myself time and effort while cutting these out.

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

                              Proverbs 3:9  ESV

 

New babies are always exciting, and this baby is no exception!  My nephew and his wife had their first child recently, and this is the first grandchild for my sister and brother-in-law.  I’m happy to report that all went well, and this baby girl has no lack of people to love on her!

Her nursery was done in a very pleasing combination of colors, and I was able to find fabrics at the quilt show in just the right shades.  I think this quilt is a good example of how high quality fabrics can make a simple pattern look complex.  Most of the fabrics are batik, which gives them a look of swirling movement. This particular pattern has a number of names in Blockbase:  Old Garden Wall, ZigZag, Streak of Lightning, General Sherman’s Quilt, and Depression Quilt (as in the Great Depression, when they used every scrap they had just to keep warm).  I drew myself a colored chart to follow, and it was easy to cut and piece.

When it came time to quilt it, I wasn’t quite sure how to proceed.  After some thought, I decided I wanted something curvy to de-emphasize the blockiness of the quilt.  I have an attachment on my sewing machine that allows me to follow a previously quilted line, so I used a bowl to trace the first curve in a corner, and then followed the lines out from there.  I was pleased with how it looked, and it was very quick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s time to finish up my series on things I have learned from homeschooling!  I’ve enjoyed this backward look over the past 20 years–things always look different in retrospect that they did when you were in the middle of living it.  Here’s a link to part one and part two.

Part three today carries me back to the beginning of our homeschooling journey.  My husband was working as a youth minister, and we were disturbed by some of the things we heard from the youth about their experiences at school.  I was enjoying my 3 1/2 year old, and was not particularly interested in sending him off to school all day.  My oldest sister was doing some homeschooling, and because she lived far away, she sent me some “Teaching Home” magazines.  These opened up a whole new world to me, and I began reading everything the library had about homeschooling–a wide variety of philosophies, from John Holt to the Moores to Gregg Harris and Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.  I learned some things from all of them, but because I have always been a book lover (and unimpressed with textbooks), I found that the ideas of Charlotte Mason struck a cord within me.  We followed those ideas with varying degrees of diligence through the years, but they bore great fruit in my children’s minds and hearts.

So here’s a list of things  I learned from the early years of our homeschooling:

1.  Curriculum is your servant.

This is actually a quote from Ruth Beechick.  I highly recommend her books about the 3 R’s–very sensible stuff.  But I have tried never to forget that I am the one in charge, and just because this book says to do it this way, does not mean that I must.  You know your child best, and you mold the curriculum–whatever type it is–to fit their needs.  And yes, it’s okay to skip a lesson if they already know what is being taught.

2.  Habits and character make it all come together.

It is easy at all stages of homeschooling to over-emphasize the academics, and forget the big picture:  that we are raising a child here, not one who can simply read, write and think, but one that is discerning about moral issues and has good moral habits.  There may be times when schoolwork needs to be set aside briefly to concentrate fully on developing those good habits of obedience and right choices.  But like most habits, these can be learned and reinforced one little bit at a time.  And when you keep good habits and character as a priority along with the schoolwork, you will see that they complement each other.  Schoolwork time is an opportunity to practice diligence and good attitude, and a child whose character is being molded by his parents is more pleasant to be around all the time.

3.  A mind is not a bucket to be filled.

You may have seen that quote by W.B. Yeats–”Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire”.  I was reading last night about the Common Core standards for teaching which many states are adopting for their public schools.  The lesson plan the article was describing sounded very much like the filling of a bucket to me.  A good deal of what I learned as a public schooled youngster was learned from books I read outside of class and experiences provided by my parents.  Be mindful of the spark within your children, and do your best to feed the flame.  Remember that if they love to learn, that will continue to do so throughout their lives, long after they have left your home.

4.  Small things done consistently reap a great reward.

We’re talking early years here–days filled with the demands of young children and younger siblings.  Sometimes fitting in homeschooling seems overwhelming.  The idea of learning all those math facts is just too much.  And taken as a whole, it is too much.  You may not have time to do all the addition facts every day, but you do have time to work on just a few.  You can find time to post a memory verse by the table and read it together at every meal.  We did this for years, and learned a verse from each book of the Bible.  The key here is “consistency”–if you do these small things just every now and then, they will not come together and get the job done.

If you’ve made it all this way, thank you!  I appreciate your interest in our journey, and encourage to continue faithfully on if you are homeschooling.

There’s been a conspicuous silence on the blog the past few weeks, other than scheduled Sunday Scripture posts.  However, there was a good reason for it–or maybe reasonable explanation would be better.

The weekend before Easter, my father-in-law passed away.  He was the last living grandparent of my children.  Having experienced loss before, we knew this day would come, but not exactly when.  The day it did come was unexpected, but not a total surprise.

Grandpa was an amazingly talented man.  He could build a house, was a basketball star, and remembered everyone’s phone number and birthdays (30+ grandchildren).  He conducted many a Bible study with people all across the country.  Whatever he did, he did it with all his might, and sought to glorify God through his life.  May his legacy and influence live on for generations to come, and we look forward to seeing him one day in heaven.

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

                           Psalm 85:10 ESV

Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.
If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Proverbs 3:23-24 ESV