A Special Quilt

Last week, Curly and I were invited to NC to see our dear friend be baptized. It's a huge deal. We have watched her grow spiritually for the past year and a half. The baptism itself was just the icing on the cake.

She asked Curly to baptize her. It was such an honor to be there. Let me tell you -- this is a strong woman. She is not easily swayed. She knows what she wants in life and goes after it. There have been some hiccups in her journey, but she has persevered. And while not everyone in her life agrees with her decision, they know she has come to it truthfully and honestly because they know the kind of woman she is, and they respect her decision. I just love her to pieces.

So I made her a quilt.

I wanted her to not only have something to remember this weekend by, but I wanted her to have a tangible reminder of the Comforter. When times get tough, and they will because that's just life, I want her to have something she can see and feel and be reminded of the promises she has made, and that God has made with her.

Her favorite color is red, so I used this fantastic Riley Blake chevron fabric for the back. I love it so hard. The best part about it is that it's 108" wide, so I didn't have to piece the back.

 So I went a little overboard with the size of this thing. The pattern calls this a "lap" size. Ha. Hahahhahhaha. That's a gigantic lap. It fits on her bed.

Quilt stats:

Pattern -- 3 in a Box by Jaybird Quilts'
Fabric -- Songbird by Carina Gardner for Riley Blake
Size -- Ginormous. 83" square.

Resolving, not Dissolving

I think I was in the minority this past December 31, because I did not want 2013 to end. It was a good year. We finally closed on our house in Maryland, we also bought our house here in Pittsburgh, and we had a baby. A very cute, happy, silly, baby who still likes to wake up for a little snuggle once or twice a night. And she has teeth. Three of them so far. They all broke through within a week. That was super fun.

I'm not one to wallow in the passage of time. I love that my kids grow and learn and become their own people. But, oh, if I could freeze things as they are right now, that would be fantastic. Freeze Mini-me when she is still young enough to play with My Little Ponies, but old enough to have her own sewing machine. Freeze Patch as he has giant teeth growing in and is constantly discovering new talents. Freeze Ginger as she daily discovers cool things, and sometimes it's the same discovery two or three times in a row. And freeze Baby as she lights up with Curly comes in the room, or as she waves and claps and tries to blow kisses. I wish I had frozen Flower before she got into high school and became so busy.

But I can't freeze time. So we'll march on. And while I march, I will "try a little harder to be a little better." This year I am resolving to be a better steward of my time. I am resolving to be kinder towards myself. And I am resolving to keep up with the laundry.

2013 was good to me. I can't wait to see the great things that will happen to me in 2014.