Mother's Day

***This post was meant to get published on Sunday but my computer is being old and therefore stubborn***

The Book of Mormon tells of an army of 2,000 valiant, courageous, and strong young men who had been taught by their mothers "to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him" (Alma 53:21).

My own mother had no sons, but she taught her daughters as these mothers of old taught their sons.  She loved her Father in Heaven and her Savior and wanted her daughters to as well. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, my mother was diagnosed with ALS.  Two months ago her battle came to an end.  She left this mortal life in a body that no longer worked.  Over the past couple years it had slowly shut down, limb-by-limb, but her mind was alert and knowing.

In the fall of 2012 she lost her voice.  This gave her much time spent in her own thoughts.  Instead of becoming angry at God and the trial of a failing body, she spent much time in prayer and scripture study.  My mother left this life knowing her Savior; not just believing in him, but knowing him.

(if this video doesn't show up it can be found here)

This Mother's Day my heart is sad that I cannot be with my mother to hug and kiss her.  But I am extremely grateful for the time I spent with her and the memories I have.  I feel strongly that it was her time to return to her Savior.  She taught us well and loved us dearly.  She is in a place now where opportunities to serve are not limited by her failing physical body.  She can do more now in the service of our Father then she could have these last couple of years on the earth.

I know my Father loves me.  I know He sent His son, our Savior, to die for each of us that we may become cleansed from our sins.  That through faith and obedience we can return to live with Him and our families when we pass from this mortal life into eternal life.

I am grateful to have had the association with such a wonderful woman who I was able to call Mom. 

"Diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world."  Dieter F. Uchtdorf

More triangles

I was recently asked to make another of this quilt. 

Usually, when I "remake" a quilt I change things about it; the layout, colors, back, etc.  However, Ashley wanted it to be as close to the original as possible.  Since I was about to move and the prospect of not having to take the time to debate and question the block layout (as I usually do) was so appealing, I happily consented to making a replica.

Unlike the original, I did choose to double stitch around each of the seams like.

This combination of neutrals with a dash or orange is a happy one for me.  That, combined with the uniform quilting gives the back a pleasant yet interested look.

Of all the fabrics I frequently use for my bindings, this Joel Dewberry herringbone is one of my most favorite.  I really should buy yards and yards and yards of it.  :)

A tutorial for making a 60 degree angle quilt can be found here.

a haircut for my girl

B has been asking for a haircut for quite some time now.  Brushing out her long hair was, at times, a scream fest (thankfully it's straight) but overall I enjoyed all the fun ways we could style it.  Mostly piggies and braids (I love braids!).

 But she kept asking and so finally I gave in and chopped it off!

I was a little concerned she was going to have a meld down when she saw it but she looked at herself in the mirror and screamed (in all the little girl excited she possesses), "I LOVE IT!"

Whew...thank goodness!

60 degrees of Kona

It's been a while since I posted a finished quilt.  Actually, it's been a while since I posted at all.  :)
I was excited about the colors Christa chose for her quilt.  The all came together nicely.  They are all Kona colors from my stash, here, and here.

I double stitched around each seam for the quilting.  I love the geometric shapes this creates on the back.  Along with a very simple color block design, the back looks just as good as the front!

I need to buy more of this striped fabric.  It makes such a great binding.

I have another one of these (but in baby size) in the works.  I really love this design!


In other news, we are moving out of state next week.  I feel kind of useless because we are having a moving company pack and haul everything away.  However, it's kind of nice not stressing about it all (not too much anyway).  :)