Whew! What a past few years it has been!

However, I did get a few profects done! And have many more in the works. I miss you all and can't wait to get caught up again! Here is the completed Origins Quilt created by using the tube method! Sorry! It is an Iphone pic!

Life Catches Up!

Home at last!

Another long hiatus on post! I am so sorry! This past year was ( I hope) the craziest year of my life! So much has happened, I will not bore you with the details, but would like to let you all know that your prayers and notes of encouragement have been so precious! Helen, thank you so much for the Christmas happy, I just love it!

I wanted to let you all know that I decided to retire from my position with Hospice. It was a difficult decision to make, but, I beleive it was the right one for me. I found myself in an unhappy place this past year and finally got the kick that made me make a decision to make some changes. And, changes I have made ( of course, I am still sewing and quilting)! I have always been a farm girl at heart, so....

Let me introduce you to some of my new friends...

These are my Pineywoods Cattle. They are a heritage breed that is currently critically endangered. It feels awesome to be a small part in helping to save these hardy animals. The red one is the head cow; Big Mamma. The others in the lower pictures names are Anne Belle, Petunia and Bully. Not pictured are new babies Earl Pitz and another yet to be named bull calf!

Anne Belle

Petunia

Bully

I really enjoyed the calving season! Can't wait for next year! I loved every stinking minute of waiting and watching for the calves to be born and tending these beautiful rare animals.

Not to leave anyone out, I have a coop full of gorgeous mutt chickens! I think we are up to about 20 chickens now and have an incubator full of eggs that are due March 16th! I hope this hatch goes better than my first attempt!

And, this sweet little Non-mutt chicken, a Blue Copper Maran, the lone survivor of m first attempt at incubationg eggs. His name is Yokeo!

And, of course, my side kick and protector of all-Bigfoot! Actually, he is not new, but would be quite offended that I didn't include him!

I have been doing some quilting as well, just don't have any pictures uploaded! I promise to upload some tomorrow...or the next day! I spend alot of my time between home and Baton Rouge, where my husband works.

I miss you all and will try and get caught up with you all in the next few weeks!

Love,

Glenda

I have too been quilting!!!

Long time, no see! Thank you all for the kind notes and prayers sent for our family and our daughter. Things are still not resolved, please continue to remember us.


Life has been busy! But I have gotten in some sewing time. Here are a few flimsies, one finish, a start and some eye candy I wanted to share.

Please pardon the poor quality of the pics; I had to take them inside tonight!


This is "One Bad Bear" made from Moda's French General Collection Lumiere de Noel . This is another one of those "I didn't have a plan when I started it" projects. I was going to make traditional bear claw blocks and whn I got the "paws" made I decided to put them on point with the dark border. It is called one bad bear because I didn't notice that one of the paws is not on point until I had the borders on the quilt....

This is a pic of the corners. This is a Christmas Layer Cake with double borders that I expect will be gorgeous when I get around to quilting it!
This little flimsy is mostly Amy Butler sashed with Kona Gray.And, this is the ugly brown quilt, finally quilted and residing on my bed. It looks much better in person, I promise!

Ooohhhh, ooohhh, Origins by Basic Gray! More of this to come!


And, the much anticipated (for me) Moda Bliss by Bonnie and Camille! I love it, love it, love it

Cute Little Bag!

My sweet friend Elly quilted my ugly brown quilt for me, so in return, I made her this cute little bag using the dresden plate featured on my title.

And Life Continues...

I surely thought I would be posting a picture of some completed quilts by now, but life has had other ideas. So much has happened this year.

On June 7th, my Father-in-law passed away after a long battle with Alzhiemer's. Working in Hospice, I see deaths every day, one would think I would be quite able to confort my family as they grieved. It is difficult under any circumstances, but, experiencing death personally only reminds me that when families we take care of at work lose a loved one, it is a once in a lifetime moment for them and I must remain vigilent to comfort them, never letting it become a daily occurance for me. My husband had a difficult time with his father's death- he is doing better day by day.

On top of having a death in the family, our 23 year old daughter decided that house rules didn't apply to her, that she would not be told what to do or when to come home and that she was moving out despite the fact that she was fired from her job of two years. She has broken my heart into. I hope she will be ok. I haven't heard from her in 5 days. Please pray for her. She has always had to work a little harder than her peers to get by and I am not certain she understands the ramifications of what she is doing. She has Mosaic Down Syndrome and has accomplished more than we ever dreamed she would. She graduated from High School and Trade school, drives herself all over the place and has always been a great young lady ( yet, a stubborn one.) I pray that she makes good choices and seeks the Lord in her dealings. I pray that she is successful in her endeavors. I miss her.

Experiencing all of these things while I have been recovering from surgery have been difficult. However, I have has some solice in several different things.

Firstly, I have the promise that Jesus loves me and He loves my daughter. I have my wonderful husband and son. I have a great job that keeps me grounded.

Secondly, I can lose myself in sewing. Each stitch I make, each garment I complete or block I sash together work out the pain and joy of life.

Thirdly, I am an avid gardener. While all of this has been going on, I have canned corn, peas tomatoes, squash and peppers. Put away hundreds of quarts of food for my family, all while tending my beautiful cottage garden full of every flower imaginable.

Nothing makes me feel more womanly or peaceful or successful than creating something from a peice of fabric or putting food away for my family.

I think I will end this long, pictureless, rambling post with a little poem I wrote a few years ago. I am sorry for airing my laundry here, but I felt if I wrote it down, I might somehow feel lighter.

So, Let me prepare a meal for you; it nourishes my spirit.
Let me sew you a quilt; it warms my heart.
Let me tend your garden; it feeds my soul.
Let me comfort you; it heals me.
Glenda Beasley, 2006

I am Back!

Well, sort of. My surgery went very well, of course, recovery is slower than I would like it to be. I have to wear a huge rigid neck brace all of the time, with the exception of when I am showering. It is ugly and miserable, especially in this South Mississippi summer. That said, I am so thankful to have this behind me and can't wait to get back in the swing of things.

Now, a little sewing talk. I decided to sell a few quilts at a local shop. I priced them well and left them at the shop. And, I grieved and grieved and grieved over them. So, I went back and got them! One is on my bed and the other is on the back of my sofa!

Follows is a few pictures of them when they were in the lovely little shop, Lilli Belles-

The first quilt is made of fabric from the Essence collection from Moda. The pattern is Easy Hexagons. I almost didn't finish this quilt. I just couldn't get into it! The pattern was easy enough, I just..., well, I don't know what my problem was.
I had all of the rows put together but hadn't put the borders on it. My dear friend, Elly, came over and MADE me finish it! I am glad she did, it is a lovely quilt.

The quilt hanging above is my second quilt. The pattern is Turning Twenty and the fabric is randomly selected fat quarters from my favorite quilt shop, Kelley's Pins and Needles. I will try to get pictures of both quilts in my home. These pictures don't do them justice.

I want to thank all of you for the prayers and well wishes and request that you continue to pray for me. I especially want too thank Elly, Dianne, Kelley, Lynnette, Jan and my co-workers for the visits, the food and gifts as well as the love I felt from each of you. You are all the best!

Having Surgery in the Morning

Hello everyone! I wanted to let you all know that I am having surgery Friday morning. I am supposed to be there at 7:30, hopefully they can get started right away. Please pray for me!

I wanted to also let you all know why I have been away. Two years ago I started having terrible achy pain in my shoulders, forearms, and hands. I went to every doctor one can imagine and was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I started taking the new medication, Savella, and became severely depressed( and it didn't help my pain). I finally stopped taking it, my pain persisted, but I refused to let it get the better of me.

A few months ago, I was working in my yard, and became aware that my shoulder was hurting terribly. I was certain I had torn a rotator cuff, so I visited my FP and he agreed. He thought it was to painful to try and do an MRI on, prescribed me some meds and told me to come back in a few weeks for an MRI. Well...I just couldn't find the time to get back into the doctor( even though my pain was ever-increasing) for about 6 weeks. He was still certain that it was a rotator cuff injury, but I asked him if he thought we should image my neck also, because it seemed to "crunch" when I moved it. He said it wouldn't hurt to look, but to prepare myself for rotator cuff repair.

When my results came back, my shoulder was fine, but, I learned that my neck was a mess! So!!! Tomorrow morning I will be having a 2 level anterior cervical fusion and discectomy. I will be in a collar for about three weeks and hopefully, finally, and thankfully pain free.

I have missed sharing my days with you all and have finished some quilts. I have taken pictures of them and hopefully can share them with you all while I am recuperating from the procedure.

Please pray for me, my surgeon and my family. I will let you all know how I am doing as soon as I can type.

Love,

Glenda