International Doll Quilt for Kathryn

My sweet mother in law, Kathryn, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Uterine cancer this Winter. She has begun her chemo, and the whole family is hopeful but distressed nonetheless.

Kathryn is one of the most inspiring women I am privileged to know. Since I worked in Little Rock the last two years, I was able to get to know her so much better and really build a strong relationship with her. I love her so much and cherish all that she has taught me. Even though I am glad to be back in Boston and no longer travelling, I have felt so far away as she has begun this very hard trial. Since she has been one of my greatest influences in learning how to be a faithful woman, I felt like I needed to make her something extra special to know that John and I care and are thinking of her.

So...thus began one of the most extensive and over-ambitious quilting projects I have ever completed! I wish I had better photos. Kathryn loves dolls, and she loves different cultures from around the world. So - we made her an International Sun Bonnet Sue quilt. 

I was not even remarkably alone in making this quilt. My mom did over 10 of the 25 blocks, and provided so much moral support. I had friends from Church helping by making blocks, lending sewing machines so we could run at "double capacity", and of course John doing the bulk of he finishing. John may not be the first to admit it - but he is so talented at anything crafty or detail oriented. I was feeling extremely ill the week before we needed it finished, so John did all of the border, quilting and binding. He also did all of the cutting (I don't exactly have the same precision to detail... say as an Analytical Scientist). I am so grateful for all the help we had in making this quilt.

We chose 25 different countries/regions in the World to represent, and cut out and ironed on the designs to attach them to the blocks. I also did blanket stitch applique on all of the pieces, which really helped them "pop" out. We ended up just tie quilting it due to time constraints, but hope to have it quilted one day with a long arm. 

My mother in law loved it. She sent me photos of her using it in Chemo and said it is actually the perfect size. We did a snuggly flannel on the back, so it is very soft and warm. 

Quilt Top before Finishing

Here are some of the blocks before we did the applique. 

Middle East

Boston, MA

Peru

Spain

Here John is pinning on the binding. Yes - those are my purple pajama pants. Yes - I love this man to the moon and back. He is so good to me and to his momma. 

It may be eons before I decide to tackle another applique quilt, but this was a really great project with lots of help. It was truly a labor of love.

Rays of Sunshine in a Tough Winter

This winter has been a challenge. I feel like winters frequently are and it is always in this February/March/April timeframe that it feels like it will never end. There have been a lot of factors to make this winter tough, but I am grateful to begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It is amazing how much joy just seeing the sun can bring. I feel like I have such a renewed energy and livelihood from just having a little more light and warmth in my life.

On Monday this week it was 77! I just wore a light sweater on my commute and a dress... with no tights! And I didn't even wear boots! It was crazy, I hadn't gone without wearing wool socks, boots and a heavy coat, scarf and gloves since October. I take the train to work and do about 20 minutes of walking each way, so I have to be prepared for the elements. We even turned off our heat and even opened our bedroom windows!

2 mornings later I woke up at 4 am freezing (windows still open). It was back down to below freezing and we had gotten ice/rain overnight! Bring back the socks, boots, gloves, scarves.... We may not be through the winter yet -- but Spring is coming! And I can trek the cold a bit longer if it means more glorious sunshine is coming.