Finishing up some UFO's

My mother died on January 2, 2008. In her wake she left several broken hearts and a closet full of unfinished projects. I know she had every intention of finishing them, just as I do mine. The idea of getting rid of them feels like discarding out hours of her life. I find myself clinging to what's left of her but I also know that I can't keep everything she ever started and didn't finish. So I'm going through some of the things deciding what to finish what to pack up and send out into the world and what to discard completely.

Finished is better than perfect

~Anonymous

Most of her Cross Stitch I'm going to get rid of. I've got tons of plastic canvas and plastic canvas patterns that I'm going to get rid of as well. I don't do plastic canvas myself.

One of the things I've decided to finish is an Afghan. There was just one more row to complete it. I've finished the blocks now I just have to sew them onto the afghan.

Clearing out my mother's UFOs has given me a lot to think about regarding my own. I have two sons and a step daughter.  None of them are going to want to finish my projects. Most of them were lovingly started with the intention of being finished. Some of them found their way to the finish line but most are still in boxes. I read once on the Internet about a way to make yourself finish those unfinished projects. You are allowed to start a new project only if you finish and old one first and then you must also finish the new project that you're starting. Before you can start another new project again, you must finish an old one. I've been trying this and it is working fairly well.

more quilts

This is a flannel rag quilt I made for my mother. It has flannel on both front and back and has quilt batting sandwiched in between the layers. I made this for her because she is always cold. Since her cancer has returned and she is undergoing chemo, she has lost a fair bit of weight and is often feeling weary. The quilt is now too heavy for her. She now wraps up in a flannel sheet by the fireplace. I suppose I should take the quilt upstairs because this old house is drafty and cold.

I love fabric yo-yo's. You can make so much from them. This is a bed topper I made several years ago. It still sit on the guest room bed. My mom has made a bag load of yo-yo's but has not put them together. I am hoping to get that done for her before Christmas but if not, then in the new year.

This is a quilt I made for my mother-in-law. It was inspired by Cynthia Walters' technique found in Snippet Sensations. I was going to make her a bed quilt to match but I don't think she was too impressed with this. Oh well, not everyone likes the same things. I know she was greatly impressed with my Mammy quilt, below. It was made as a celebration of Canada's role in the emancipation of slaves through the underground railroad. It hangs in the third floor hall and opposite and over the stairs in my tumbling block quilt. The borders are from the same fabric so even though the themes having nothing in common, they compliment each other beautifully. I hand pieced the tumbling blocks while watching a lot of old movies. The templates were made from contruction paper which made it easy to work with. I was working on a grandmother's flower garden but I was using plastic templates. I find them a little hard to work with and gave up on it. I still have all the pieces, I just need to put them onto paper. Someday . . .

Those who sleep under a quilt,

sleep under a blanket of love.

~Author Unknown

I still have trouble believing that we live here. I've been clipping pictures and ideas from magazines for years. I've been putting them into a decorating scrapbook. My dream book, I guess you could call it. It's fun to dream.

My husband Paul and I were out driving on our anniversary last April when we drove past this gorgeous house in a little village about one hour from where we lived. Paul jokingly asked if I'd like to see it and I said sure. We took the number of the realtor down and started to drive away only to notice that the realtor's office was just five doors down the street. So we went into the office and asked if we might see inside the house. Diane, our agent and new friend walked us down and as I stepped onto the front porch it was as though I'd found my way home. Once we stepped inside I was sold. The house just kept getting better and better. The owners were wonderful people and I am happy to say that we now have the pleasure of calling them friends. I have been decorating this house for years in my scrapbook. We still have to put our personal stamp on the house but we're in no hurry. This is a 'feel good' house.














With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable. ~Thomas Foxwell Buxton

I hope you will join me as I set forth into making the rest of my dream come true through decorating, painting, crafting, needle arts, crochet, gardening and collecting. Stop by often to check out my latest aquisitions from antique stores and curio shops. Enjoy some of my recipes and try out a few of the patterns and instructions I will be sharing in the coming months. Please post your comments and share your thoughts with me. I look forward to hearing from you.