Dotty Di

Today It’s my turn in Madame Samm’s and Corrie’s Dots on Dots Blog Hop, and right now it couldn’t be more appropriate.

With my brain going to mush , my short-term memory unreliable at best, and my physical co-ordination on the sluggish side, “dotty” is the perfect word for me!

 

I put my hand up to participate in the Dots on Dots Blog Hop back in July, blissfully unaware of the speed bump my life would hit before my day for sharing my 12.5 inch dot-themed block came around.

Fortunately I had finished the stages of my block requiring any brain power several weeks ago.

What better theme than a party to show off as many dots as possible?

I had multi-coloured confetti dots in the background, big bold balloons (they’re dots too) appliqueed in the corners of my block, and a dotty ribbon garland in aqua to surround a ring of cupcakes.

Even the spotty cherries are 1cm dots!

If you’d like to know how to create these tiny applique dots you can see my tutorial here.

This week, when I once again took up my stitching, I decided my party-themed block might look rather fun as a cushion cover, so the next step was to sew on some more of that aqua dotty fabric as a border, and hand quilt around the shapes. This didn’t tax my concentration too much!

Then I embroidered coloured strings to float around my balloons.

Finally, being in a dotty frame of mind, and because you just can’t have too many dots on a block such as this, I embroidered French knots to make coloured hundreds and thousands (nonpareils) on the pink-iced cupcakes.

Unfortunately, with life taking an unexpected turn, time didn’t allow me to finish my cushion cover. That will happen down the track when I’m not feeling quite so “out to lunch”.

In the meantime I can’t help but smile just looking at the colours, movement and dots on dots in this fun block I designed.

 

Like dots? Then click on this image to see the entire schedule for this blog hop on our cheerleader Corrie’s blog.

Thank you so much, Madame Samm and Corrie, for the opportunity to join in the blog hop fun. Putting the finishing touches to my happy looking block/cushion cover has been hugely therapeutic for me.

Now, dear reader, please make sure you go visit these blogs today where you’ll find lots more yummy dottiness

September 20th

Cherry's Prairie Primitives

Quilts From My Crayon Box 

Sparrow in Flight

The Slow Quilter
Petit Design Co.

Geta Grama

Quilted Delights

Di of Snippets 'n' Scraps (Me!)

Nunu's Quilt World

Di

In which I wear my heart on my sleeve

There's a tape playing in my head, over and over.

I'm on my knees on the bedroom floor, pumping my husband’s chest like his life depends on it. It does. The phone’s on loud speaker and a blessedly calm female voice at the end of the 000 line is making me count each CPR compression out loud so she can monitor my timing. She is reassuring as she tracks the ambulance’s swift progress through the pre-dawn gloom to my front door.

"You’re doing really well. Now you’re going to keep it up till the paramedics are there beside you, OK? The ambulance has just turned into your street. It should be pulling up right now. Can you hear them yet?"

I've already flung wide the front door, so the four paramedics can race up the stairs and immediately begin their work. I phone a friend who lives closest, selfishly waking her with the news that her friend of more than 50 years is battling for his life. She’s there in minutes and together we cling together at the other end of the room as every piece of available modern technology is applied to the situation. It's a comfort to me, and a credit to them, that not once does anyone say my husband is not going to make it. But after 40 minutes we know the truth. My darling man has gone.

Twelve days later I can still hardly believe it. The sun rose, as it always has, on that Saturday morning, the first day of spring, and life outside my bubble of grief life has gone on as if nothing has happened. The wisteria in my garden has transformed itself from a bare tracery of sticks to a hedge of dripping purple. Everything outside these walls has continued on uninterrupted and the sun has shone brightly every single day.

But my life has changed forever.

I'm bereft, adrift. I feel half a person. Our whole family is devastated. We are numb with shock at the suddenness of Boak’s death. And whilst I know this turn of events is all part of the Lord’s plan, He and I don’t entirely see eye to eye over this one right now. And I know that’s OK with Him  too.

This week has been a blur. I've been carried along on a huge wave of love and compassion. My house is filled with flowers, my freezer is stocked with food, I have a huge box filled with cards and letters from well-wishers, and I've been oh so cared for! I have the BEST family and friends in the world!

Boak's funeral service on Thursday was so very, very beautiful, but I desperately wish he was here to help me pick up the pieces of a life cut short, to hug me close and tell me it will be alright.

I'll never forget the sight of our brave young assistant minister and the three scarlet-clad bishops doing Boak the singular honour of walking his hearse down Darling Point Road, pausing briefly outside our home of the last 10 years, as the police directed traffic and the whole world seemed to stop for a few minutes.

Boak was a gentleman, a man of real integrity, compassion and principle. As a minister he loved his congregations, and when they needed him in tough times he was always there. It saddened him when too often he heard someone had been ill, hadn't thought to send him a message to let him know, and now felt uncared for. His great gift, however, was as a preacher. Oh, how that man could preach!

He seriously underestimated the effect his words had on people, but I've had several separate messages this week from folk to whom his simple greeting at the church door one morning meant the world to them, given the particular concerns on their minds at the time.

What a blessing that he was able to marry Ben and Sunny just 4 weeks earlier.

Boak was authentic. What you saw was what you got. He could at times be inflexible, irascible, pessimistic and obsessive. But he could also be tender, solicitous, selfless, loving and funny. I could always rely on him to see a way through difficulties, and handle problems wisely and thoughtfully.

He had a fine sense of the ridiculous. Who in our family will ever forget his performances of "Dancing on the Table with my Teddy Bear", a ditty he composed for The Princess when she was just weeks old so he could dance her around the kitchen?

He demonstrated his love for me not just in words, but in real and loving actions, the last couple of years waking me with breakfast in bed every morning and making the dinner  every evening when I had lost my mojo for cooking. Wednesday was the day he did his own washing, but that was more about making sure I couldn't lose any of his socks in the wash than about saving me the chore! He always maintained that, unlike me, he never lost a single sock after taking on the washing himself.(.hmmmm...I wonder!).

We've shared 40 years of marriage and he's been my treasured companion. We've worked as a team and, though I won't pretend life has always been perfect, we’ve always loved each other and told each other so. He had a tender side that few saw and I'm so grateful that in Gods loving plan my voice was the last he heard.

As I pick up the pieces I struggle to find strength and consolation in four thoughts -

* The way Boak always encouraged me when I doubted my own abilities (which i do most of the time). I want to make him proud of me as I rebuild my life.

* My three grown children and two daughters-in-law who I love so much and who have so swiftly and sensitively taken charge of what's had to be done this week. I know I can count on their love and support - but I don't ever want to burden them.

* My unbelievably generous and loving friends, who’ve also been by my side. They are all an inspiration to me and I know one day, one day, things will get better.

* Finally, I know have the best and most dependable arms of all carrying me through this, and indeed the whole of my life.

Deuteronomy 33:27 - The eternal God is your rescue, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

I just pray He’ll erase that tape inside my head before too long.

Di

PS. I’ll be back here very soon, blogging about quilting and other snippets ‘n’ scraps of my life, so please bear with me while I try to re-join some of those scraps.

Links  to some articles written about Boak by his colleagues and our friends -

http://sydneyanglicans.net/news/stories/former-dean-of-sydney-dies 
http://markdthompson.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/boak-jobbins-19472012.html
http://holbeck.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/090-boak-jobbins-1947-2012-former-dean-of-sydney-a-tribute-from-a-former-colleague/

Yours, in haste…

I’ve been a little busy this week.

Visiting …

Shopping for plants to replenish our garden after a winter of neglect…

And fondling these fabrics…

 

I’ll be taking part in the Dots on Dots Blog Hop next month, the perfect excuse to design a project using my happiest and spottiest fabrics. You’ll have to wait till the very last day (20th September) to see my contribution to the fun, but there will be plenty of blogs to visit and admire along the way.

Click on the image below, or the Dots on Dots badge in the upper right hand of this page to see the complete list of bloggers joining in.

Finally, for those of you who’ve been counting, I haven’t forgotten that I have yet to reveal the last of the three quilts I announced that I’d finished in July. You’ve seen the Whirligig Quilt and the Wedding Quilt, and I hope I don’t have to keep you waiting too much longer for Daisy a Day. 

Di

Goodbyes

Sometimes saying goodbye can be tough.

Today, just three whirlwind weeks after we swept her up into our arms at the airport, we were back there again to see Sarah off on her long journey back to the USA.

Whilst here she’s caught up with friends and family, been a part of our exciting family wedding, slept (a lot) and made a quilt – a Blanket of Love for RPA Newborn Care’s Intensive Care Nursery.

It’s been exciting having her around the house again, even if Chester has shunned us in favour of his new best friend, Sarah.

He insisted on being part of this photo, simply took his place beside Sarah and refused to budge. Just look at that sad little black face. You can’t tell me he didn’t sense that this would be his last morning with her for who knows how long.

Out at the airport, we drank coffee together and took photos, trying hard to be brave.

Then she was gone, back to “living the dream”. We wouldn’t have it any other way, but we miss her just the same.

If one goodbye is tough, having to say two in one day is just plain heartbreaking.

We said our final farewells to our dear friend Jan this afternoon, and celebrated her long and generous life, a life spent bringing sunshine into the lives of others.

Through her friendships, her volunteer work, her support for disadvantaged people across the world, and her bright, cheerful outlook on life, Jan made the world a better place for so many people.

For me it was a special privilege to have have been one of “Jan’s Girls”, participants in the morning exercise classes that she conducted locally for around 30 years.

It’s probably not news to you that I’m not a morning person, but after an hour of stretches, marches, jigs and laughter I never failed to leave Jan’s class with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.

Her love of life, of good health, and of her Lord were downright infectious.

Goodbye, dear Jan (and you make sure those angels sit up nice and straight and don’t cross their legs).

Di

Pretty little things

Just pictures today – little pincushions I made for my treasured friends whose small gestures of kindness helped our big occasion run so smoothly.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Lucky for me they’re all quilters

Di

Two stunning winners at Hunters Hill Quilt Show

Last week it was rose petals at St Mark’s, this week confetti at Hunters Hill Quilt Show.

Periwinkle Confetti, to be exact, an eye-poppingly beautiful quilt made by my friend Heather Watts, one of 10 quilts chosen as winners by the non-quilting guest judge, chef Alex Herbert from the (now closed) Bird, Cow, Fish restaurant in Surry Hills.

Heather’s crisp and pretty style really resonates with me, and Nic Bridges has quilted it to perfection! Take a closer look at those feathers along the border in the photo above, and swoon!

 

But wait, there’s more! Heather’s Aloha – Flowers of Hawaii won as well! I can almost hear the ukeleles and smell the frangipani.

Actually a little Hawaiian sunshine would be heavenly right now … I’m sure Di B and Gillian would agree. Here’s a momentary shivery pose before all three of us bolted for the car!

Dddddddddddd…Di

Covering up

They’ve arrived, right on time. Those chilling August winds. Too lazy to go round you, they go right through you, blowing off the snow, not far away in the Blue Mountains.

Scarves and warm coats were de rigeur for our early arrivals at St Mark’s Quilters this morning, but we were soon warmed up and ready for another day of stitching together.

Today we introduced humidicrib covers into the mix of charity quilting projects we enjoy working on.

Here’s one Di B prepared earlier, made from a pattern the nurses at the RPAH Newborn Intensive Care Nursery gave us, with flaps they can lift up to access those arm holes when they need to attend to a sick premmie baby.

Those crazy red, yellow, green and blue sock monkeys, and the rainbow bias-cut binding, were enough to get plenty of creative juices flowing.

Gillian’s cover, scattered with giraffes, will have a pinwheel pieced panel across the top.

Friendly, circus lions and zippy zigzag binding were fun choices for Di B’s second cover.

Barb’s chosen teddy bears and dots – always a hit.

And Sue’s pink, lime, lemon and aqua chickens are absolutely scrumptious.

They’re reasonably straight forward to make, the biggest decision being how to quilt them. As you can see, most of our quilters have gone with sensible options like meandering and straight line quilting which take little time and compliment the cover designs.

However Someone simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to practice her free motion machine quilting, and went just a little overboard with some very free-form swirls, flowers and feathers. Consequently her cover has taken slightly longer to make. Once she’s sewn her binding on in a few days though, this Someone will share her finished humidicrib cover with you

Of course we made quilts as well, gorgeous pastel baby quilts for newborns (with a few in stronger colours thrown in for those modern parents who like something a little different), and a couple of child-sized quilts for pre-schoolers at The Marcia (KU kindy for autistic children).

You can see more detailed photos of all these quilts by clicking on the Blankets of Love tab above and scrolling down to the end of our growing gallery of quilts.

My daughter Sarah, home for a 3 week visit, worked on finishing the sweet little blue toile quilt she started last year before she flew off to the USA and Botswana.

Gail taught Helen to paper-piece hexagons. Yes, she’s addicted already!

Michelle learnt from Sue how to square off her tumbler quilt, made from luscious hand-dyes by Lisa at Dyed and Gone to Heaven.

Margaret brought along her latest quilt-as-you-go quilt, all in blue for her blue-loving friend who’s turning 80 in a few weeks.

And we all played with our new group “toy”, the Simplicity Binding Maker. Suddenly everyone had to make a binding today! We had such fun watching those metres and metres of crisp, folded bindings emerge, all ready to sew on our projects.

With that chill wind outside, misty rain drifting past from time to time, and some of us facing life’s challenges and sadness, the idea of comfort was very much on our minds today - the comfort we can give others by using the gifts God’s given us to make quilts, and the comfort He can give us if we bring our worries to him.

Di