Thanks to my friend Elizabeth for sharing these pictures.  My camera just isn’t working the best and needs replaced so I was really tickled for these.

Me with Mama Doris, a very special lady. 

The ladies:  (Kaitlyn), Me-El Novillero, Mama board member’s wife, Norma Gingerich El Chal and the City, Sharon Eby the City, Anne Miller El Chal. 

All of us were affiliated with Mennonite Air Missions.

The Men:  Mervin Kuepfer (board member and Novillero), Vernon, El Novillero, Wilmer Lehman, City,Mark Gingerich, El Chal and the City, Duane Eby, City, Melvin Kuepfer, City, Verton Miller (missionary in Belize)

Singing together:  Silvia and James Gingerich, Marvin Martin, Norma, Sharon, and Mama

Vernon, Wilmer, Mark, Mervin, and Duane

Time for eats

This was fun!

This reunion was very special to us, even though the death of Darlene Kauffman was sad.  We enjoyed having this company! 

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of Elizabeth as she had the camera.    Anyway, she is also affiliated with MAM but our time together was when we were with the Fellowship Mission in Chimaltenango in ’84-’87.  We served in Palama, and she taught school in Chimaltenango. 

Fifty-two years ago, a tiny 6 lb. 3 oz, 18″  little boy was born at Rockingham Memorial Hospital.  His parents tacked the name Vernon Jay on him!  Well, he did eventually grow to fit the name and he has worn it well.   Happy Birthday to my better half.  Love, Kim

Playing with Kaity in one of Jonny’s wheelchairs.                               Helping his dad with his sister’s house.

When my friend @PollythePatchworker encouraged me to try the Orca Bay Mystery quilt designed by Donna K Hunter from @Quiltville‘s Quips & Snips, I wasn’t sure I was up to it.  Finally, I caved, thinking it wouldn’t be too bad.  After all, hadn’t I sewn up about 16 quilt tops last year?  Besides the idea of a mystery quilt intrigued me.  Oh, if I had only known…..

I probably wouldn’t have been so easily convinced.  First off, since I was starting at Week 3, I just printed off the instructions from each week and did what I could whenever I was able.  I had some other ‘irons in the fire’ so to speak so I didn’t even do the steps in order at first.

Next problem was that I wanted to use my Accuquilt Go cutter and so I needed to adjust the size of the pieces to fit the sizes of dies that I had available.  I am not sure if that was a mistake but it certainly made for some complications.   It took some doings to be able to figure out the correct size to enlarge each of her blocks or pieces. The original quilt is for a 74.5″ x 84.5″ and mine ended up being 96″x106″.  I like my size better and the pieces weren’t so tiny.  Its busy enough as it is….

The first step was to get enough scraps of red/pinks, blues, blacks/darks (I used purple and navy) and neutrals (I used cream, yellow and peach).  Then we were to make 224 hour-glass pieces.  Donna said to make them 2.5 inch squares.  I made mine 3″ square.

After figuring out the amount of increase I tried to make all the rest of the pieces accordingly.

Clue 2: was to paper piece 72 strip squares.  The original was to be blue but since I didn’t want a predominately red quilt I switched the reds with the blues so I made these squares pink/red.  They were to be 3.5″ but I made them 4″.  I didn’t paper piece these, just sewed a bunch of strips together and then cut the squares out.

Clue 3: Make 350  2″ (2.5″ my size)  squares using the dark and neutral.

Clue 4:  More strips.  Yuck.   I ended up paperpiecing these.  It went better for me but then my machine started acting up and so that was a major problem.  Then when I started removing the paper, I realized that my tension was off, and I probably used too heavy paper.  Next time, I will try using tissue paper.  Anyway I made 64  5.5″ squares. (6″ mine).  Also, the original was to be red but I made these blues so that my quilt would be more blue than red.  I then cut them in half diagonally to make 128 large triangles.

Clue 5:  Take the 350 squares from step 1 and add wings to make a bigger triangle:  That means 700 little triangles to add to the squares: 

Clue 6:  112  neutral and dark  2.5″ (3″) squares and 56 blues, then make 28 light Ohio Star blocks and 28 dark ones (using the blues as centers)

  I didn’t get a separated picture of the dark ones.  The original pattern these are 6.5″ but mine are 8″ square.

Clue 7:  Make 127 Flying Geese blocks.  3.5″ x 6.5″ (4.25″x 8″) using the blue strip triangles and the triangles from steps 4 and 5.

also we had to cut 100 neutral triangles and we made 3.5″ (4″) squares for the outer border.  Plus a 2 more 3.5″ (4″) hourglass pieces.

Step 8 was to put all the pieces together.  I sewed up one block so that I could get all the littler ones cut to the right size.  Since I wasn’t 100% sure how it was all going to work together so some of them I deliberately made larger just to be sure that I could pull it all together.  This is what I came up with:

The family didn’t know what the “theme” of this quilt so I was quite delighted when Lavina said, “It reminds me of a sunrise.”    I thought; “Bingo! I must be on track.” 

I ended up turning the Flying Geese pieces around so the blue was surrounding the light Ohio Star blocks instead of the dark ones.

I have never done strip or string pieces before so I failed to make sure they were ironed really flat and stretched out to their real size.  So I ended up ripping a lot of them out to retrim them.  That made for a lot of bother.

Then, I started putting it all together, going by the instructions we had been given.   I had it all sewn together when I saw @PollythePatchworker and her sister @pauljuliagraber pictures.  Their quilts wowed me and made me dissatisfied with how mine was turning out.

Here’s how it looked.

Pretty but not outstanding.  Just too busy in my opinion.   When I switched the blues and the reds, it no doubt made some difference, but what Polly did was put the strip pieces around the lighter Ohio Star pieces instead the dark ones.  Also, Julia alternated the colors of the centers of the Ohio Stars.   I debated if I wanted to change mine.  So, I took this photo and made a couple of copies.  Then I cut the Ohio Squares and pink squares out, put sticky tack on them and repositioned them on the other picture, changing them around.  I liked that result so much better that I knew that I HAD to redo my quilt or I’d alway regret it.  (I think I ended up using 3 times the normal amount of thread in this quilt!)  I also decided to put pink or red centers in dark Ohio Stars so that the pink string squares would have some continuity of color through the quilt, following a visual line or pattern.

Can you see what difference it made?  Then the final step was to find an inner border before adding the final border.

This was to be a 2″ strip but mine ended up being 4″ because of the enlargement of my pieces.  I have some marbles here so I tried hot pink, red or turquoise.  I decided on the turquoise but after I had it done, I realize again that I’d made yet another mistake.  It just wasn’t the right color.  It could’ve worked but when our 24 year old son looked at it and commented that it wasn’t the right color, I knew I had to change it.  Digging a little deeper in my stash (which I should’ve done earlier) I found a darker blue marble that fit the bill.  So this is my finished product:

Here is a close up view:

If I had only known all the work this would entail I probably would not have done it, but I feel that I have learned a number of things by this experience and I love the finished quilt.  Now I need to figure out how to quilt it. 

This quilt took me over 2 months to piece and I am happy to say “Al fin!”

PS.  Please don’t ask me how many pieces this quilt actually has: (I don’t know and don’t plan to count the pieces either!)  Also, I am determined to put up a felt piecing board or wall to lay out my quilt pieces BEFORE sewing them together instead of blindly forging ahead.  That way I can make changes before the quilt is already sewn together.  Smart quilters already know that, don’t they? 

That’s all for now, folks. Until next time, may you be kept in stitches.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I was working at one of the school desktop computers when I heard a loud crash in the hallway.

“Are you hurt?” was my response.

“Yeah.”  ….followed by unusual silence.  Usually, this child dances and wails loudly when he has a mishap. 

Suddenly my suspicions arose to a high pitch.  Something was wrong.

Oh no!  He had tripped over a Tonka truck and had dropped the laptop.  Groan.  

It seems like this laptop is rather ill-fated.  Not so terribly long ago, this same youngin had accidentally gotten the laptop wet while doing dishes and shorted out the keyboard. 

He had just wanted me to type in the password so he could go on Super Charged Science site for some neat experiments.   Not to mention that he had failed to ask my permission first. 

Well, upon inspection, the computer still ran but it looked like this:

Usable but very unhandy. 

Call Matt.  The computer tech up the road.  That’s the advice I got from the family. 

I had another idea.  Why not try changing the screen from our old laptop?  Remember it had a heart attack last May and we just bought another one just like it on Ebay and switched the hard drives?  So, I had the extra computer just waiting to be used as parts.  Maybe I could save some money.

Should I ?  But—-what if something went wrong?  Was it worth the risk?  I goggled on the Internet how to change the screens and watched a couple of videos.  Didn’t look too complicated.  Still sort of scared so decided to wait and see how I felt in the morning.

This morning I woke up more confident.  So I started dismantling the 2 computers. Here’s the 2 laptops scattered all over my kitchen table:

In an hour or so had it back together with this result:

Guess what?  It works.  I FIXED IT!!!  I feel like a million dollars.  What else can I tackle?   

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  Not sure if that’s out of context but its a verse that came to me anyway. 

Until next time.  KimM

They say that some things are self explanatory.  Apparently I am not, so I thought it might be of interest to those who wondered, if I explained myself.

As you know, I am a mother of 9, grandmother to 3, (the newest 3 days old).  My oldest is 29 and my youngest is almost 4.  Two are married.  Two daughters no longer live at home.  I homeschool 2 children, and try to keep up with the youngest who is in a very busy stage of her life.  (Seems like she makes more messes than my others, but I have to remind myself that I had a hired girl when the others were little.)

I love writing and did write some for Tea Leaves and More Tea Leaves devotional books published by Christian Light Publications. 

I learned to crochet and knit at an early age.  I had a sweater business when we sold thousands of sweaters, etc.  Dabbled in counted cross stitch, embroidery and tatting.  I have a rug loom and make rugs.  I had a store for several years.

I am also an artist.  Or at least I am interested in it.  Yes, I did oil painting, but my best art is in quilt piecing.  So when I piece a quilt or do something of that sort, the reaction is:  “I just don’t know how you do it!”

Here is my self-explanation:  I need to keep my hands busy or I’d go bananas.  Some people love to garden or do flowerbeds, or cooking or keeping their house spotless, for their outlet, and are good at it.  Unfortunately, I do not enjoy any of the above.  My forte is sewing, knitting, etc. and I love the artistry of piecing a quilt.  (My family may go hungry but they won’t freeze.  )

So, hopefully, this sums it up.  I am not a superwoman.  I don’t even pretend to be.  But in the meantime, I just a Mrs. Sew ‘n Sew.  (I’d say a Stitch Witch but don’t like the sound of the last word).

Tootle do!

 

Jim Kauffman.  There are a few people in this world that are the epitome of gentleness.  When we met our next door neighbors here in Conrath, my first reaction was Jim was one of the gentlest men I have ever met.  Another one is Leon Yoder from Gladys, VA.  I just wanted to tell everybody that.    God bless these 2 men and their families.

I got an email from DaySpring cards and it had these questions.  I thought they were interesting for reflection on 2011.  I finally got them all answered.

 

20 Questions for a New Year’s Eve Reflection

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year? That’s hard to say, but our trip out East (VA, MD, PA) was a highlight but having Mark and Norma Gingerich, Mervin Kuepfer, and Mama Doris here in our home was a BIGGIE.

(I later thought that perhaps finding about Agave….a sugar alternative that actually tastes good, doesn’t leave an aftertaste nor is it strong like honey or maple syrup.  Within 2 weeks, my blood sugar dropped to almost normal levels.)

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?  Trying to work through a broken relationship

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year? Getting to see Mark Gingerich’s family in ND

4. What was an unexpected obstacle? Rolling our van

5. Pick three words to describe 2011. Tough, emotionally draining

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2011 I am not sure what Vernon would say, he is such an optimist, but he would agree that we had some unpleasant things mixed in with our good times.  He really helps me keep a good perspective.  

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2011   Oh he would probably say: Not too bad.  

8. What were the best books you read this year? Besides the Bible, I Lift My Lamp by Anna Balmer Myers, The Death of a Saloon by Pablo Yoder and Out of the Depths by Rachel Lofgren

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships? Vernon, and a couple of ladies at church….especially Joyce

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year? having to lose weight and change my diet due to diabetes

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally? I learned to see how that a domineering and critical spirit can be so painful and hurt relationships.  I learned from the being bullied end of it so I really could take a look at how I treat others.  Although I was hurt, I feel the experience has helped me be more compassionate and less critical of others.

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually? Learning to trust in God to supply our needs.  With over $80,000.00 in unexpected medical bills this year, there was no way we could meet these. 

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically? I hope I didn’t but I decreased in size by 17 lbs.

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others? See # 11.

15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)? I enjoyed piecing some quilts this past year.

16. What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)? Homeschooling, fixing meals and keeping the house presentable. 

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year? Probably Facebooking. 

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?Making sure I had my quiet time with God.

19. What was biggest thing you learned this past year? Trust in God

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2011 for you.  All things work together for good to those that love God.

Happy reflecting! And pass over that bowl of popcorn.

 Papa left us.  I still miss him.  Need I say more?

This picture was taken at MAM in the early ’90′s.  Glenn and Vernon Martin

The other day I pulled another bunch of Christmas mail out of the mailbox.  Most of them were pictures which we enjoy, but the letters are interesting as well.  But what warmed my heart was a little surprise note tucked into one.  It was very unexpected but VERY appreciated.  Sometimes its the littlest things that can be the biggest encouragement.

Reflecting back on this past year, I have to say it was one of those years that you wish you could somehow erase it.  1997 was one of those years:  It started out with a gallbladder surgery for me, then my parents’ house burned (my childhood home), to multiple health issues, to misunderstanding and misjudging by our co-missionaries, to Vernon getting his finger smashed off in November.  I do not remember how the year ended after that but I do remember “reeling” from hurt emotions, etc.

Especially the misunderstanding and misjudgment.  I remember crying and asking Papa Glenn Martin “Where are our supporters?”  How many of those who were critical had even taken the time to ask us why instead of flinging accusations.  It didn’t make sense.  I somehow felt betrayed.  How my heart ached over that time.

But Praise the Lord, things got better and we survived the attack.    No hard feelings toward anyone and I think in the end almost everyone got a better understanding of where we were coming from, thanks to the gentle spirit of Papa.  He definitely had a gift for working with people….how I wish he were still around, I could use his advice right now! 

Back to 2011.  I have to say, its been tough, really tough.  With Lavina having her stay in the hospital with pneumonia and our recent wreck in October when we rolled and totaled our wreck and Jonny breaking his leg.  Being officially diagnosed with diabetes.  (I already knew I had it but having it affirmed by the doctor makes it so that I cannot deny it.)   There were other disappoints and heartaches as well that I am not free to tell about.  But my heart is aching with a huge ache that only time and prayer will heal. 

As I was reflecting, I thought of the little note of encouragement from one of our daughters’ friend.  Also other letters and cards I received from friends  that encouraged me…. have I looked for ways to encourage others like this?  Have I become so calloused that another’s burden means nothing to me?  I hope that I have learned something this year through all we’ve experienced that will help me be more sensitive others’ burdens and heartaches.  If I can learn that, then this year will not have been in vain.

PS  I am in no way, trying to downplay all the good things that happened to me over this past year.  Maybe my next post should be counting all my blessings from this year.  Starting with this:

We are all alive and sane.  (At least I think so.  ) 

We have a nice warm house to live in.

We have never gone hungry.

I have been able to do a number of projects on my to-do list.

The list could go on and on…..it sums up to this:  GOD HAS BLESSED US RICHLY.

I want to take this time to thank all of you, my friends, for your love and encouragement over this past year.  You will never know who much I appreciate it.  What would I ever do with out friends?  God bless you all and I hope you have a great new year.

 

I had to scramble to get this one done.  I had planned on a Christmas Log Cabin quilt but didn’t even get that all cut out and could see that I wouldn’t be able to do it either so I grabbed a “kit” that I had cut out earlier using my Accuquilt Go cutter….Dresden Plate.  I hadn’t realized how tedious those petals would be!  I doubt I will ever use the rounded petals again.  I like the pointed ones as they were self-faced.  Anyway, I was pleased with the final results and I was able to use up a lot of scraps for the patchwork borders.

Vernon’s parent’s came on the 9th to help Lily and Delvin on their house.  They want to stay until the house is ready to move into.  Grandma says they’ll be here all winter.    That would be fine with us!  So, we will be having Christmas dinner together here.  Its nice to have family around.

Kendra Lily, our daughter who has been studying nursing in Guatemala, graduated the 10th and flew home on the 11th.  Its so good to have her home even if its only for 5 weeks.  She plans to return to do 3 more years of schooling.  Its only on the weekends though, so she’ll be working in the mission clinic in El Chal.

Not too much other stuff is going on so I’ll close.  Our sympathies go to Jerrel Good’s family over this time of intense grief.  His wife is from our congregation so it affected both of our ministers families: Lewis Martin’s and Ted Miller’s.  Jerrel’s death was such a shock and a blow to everyone.  Please remember them in your prayers.

Here are the year’s collection of quilt tops that I got done:

January:  Wedding Memories

February:  I don’t have a name for this one.

 

March: Nancy’s Fancy

April:  Kaitlyn’s Butterfly Garden

 

 

May: Tulip Watercolor Table runner

June: Swirly Gig’s

July: Swedish knit comfort top for sewing

August: Log Cabin

September: Scrappy Stars Plaid Lap RobeOctober: Tropical Breeze Nine Patch

Synchronized Spinning

Virginia PinwheelParalellogram pinwheelsNovember: Poinsettia Watercolor Table runner

December: Dresden Plate

 

A total of 16 quilts for the year. 

 

The last 4 are some of the ones I’d pieced the year before.

That’s all folks.  Its been a great project for the year but don’t think I’ll try it for the next year.  I need to get some knitting done but I do have 2 more quilt projects for next year.  Orca Bay Mystery Quilt and the contest from Japheth Stauffer’s store:  Fall in the Northwoods.