Thanksgiving 2011

"What if we woke up one morning and only had what we had thanked God for yesterday?"

What a difference a season can make! The Bradford Pear trees were covered in white blossoms just a few short months ago. Now they have been robbed of their brilliant red leaves by periods of drought and sudden chilling temperature dips.

The stark branches remind me of losses, things past. It would be easy to settle into a dark place of brooding, but thankfulness for blessings outweighs the defeat of losses. I had my parents until they were 89 and 91 years old, and had the privilege of caring for them in their final months. My precious sister and her husband enhanced my feeling of family. My husband of 57 years was my Prince Charming when I married him at age 18, and we were blessed with unusually wonderful children, a daughter and a son.

Now my loving and faithful Bigboy is my constant companion and studio helper as I carve out a different existence, taking a day at a time. I am blessed with memories that comfort, and a faith that more blessings are in store for me and mine. These blessings have to be taken up, acknowledged, and enjoyed, and this is up to me to do. I thank God for family, friends, the beauty of this world, the comfort of home, the privilege of being born in this country where we are free to make choices and worship openly. We are not promised that everything will be smooth traveling, only that we are not alone on the journey.

I'm a $30 Idea Winner from Superior Threads

When Superior Threads newsletter announced it is now carrying Hugo's Amazing Tape, I immediately thought of a handy tip I could share. I love Hugo's Amazing Tape and have used it for several years to keep my threads from unwinding into a terrible mess in my thread drawer. The tape is a non-sticky reusable almost clear tape that will cling to itself but not to other surfaces--ideal to wrap around thread. My tip: Cut the ends of the tape with pinking shears so the end is easier to find on the spool. It was published in the November newsletter as a $30 Idea Winner. Bob Purcell added: Bob's Note: Another good idea is to color the end of the tape with a marking pen so it can be easily found.

My name was misspelled as Martha Ginni, but it was really me.  I'm eager to order more of my favorite thread!

Leaf Study

Leaf Study, 18" x 22"

I used Caryl Bryer Fallert's "appli-piecing" technique to create these leaves. The leaves are appliqued to a hand-dyed cotton sateen by Heide Stoll-Weber. The echo quilting was done with the presser foot down, and the edge finish is a facing rather than a binding.

Detail

Detail