Favorite Things Firday - June 24th

It's not quite Friday here.  Just one more 8 and half hour day, then it will be the weekend.  It's been one of those work weeks.  My best laid plans were hijacked by multiple meetings that weren't on my calendar Monday morning.  Well, there is always next week right?

On to more gratifying topics, such as Favorite Things Friday.  Our hostess, Shay of Quilting in My Pyjamas, wrote about her new found appreciation of hand stitching this week.  Shay has some lovely hand work projects underway.  Looking at her work brought to mind my first forays into handwork, which my Grandmother called embroidery.   My Grandmother was not only an incredible seamstress, she did a lot of handwork at night while she and Grandpa watched TV.  

Her project of choice was quilt blocks.  When I was a kid, you could pick up preprinted quilt blocks to embroidery at the local Five and Dime store.  She taught me to stitch and gave me my first set of quilt blocks to work on.  Over the years I finished 3 sets of quilt blocks that she set together for me and hand quilted.  Of all the grand kids, I was the only one to follow in her footsteps there.  Grandma embroidered blocks and made quilts for all her kids and their kids.  But she never made one for me.  I can't complain, she did set together those 3 of mine.  Right before she went into the nursing home she was cleaning out the house and was looking for homes for a few of her quilts that she'd kept for herself.  I begged for one (her quilts were very popular gifts within the family).  She never realized that I didn't have one she made.  So I was lucky enough to get one of her last quilts. 

I love the setting she used for this quilt.  Since this quilt is hand quilted it doesn't get a lot of use, but I love having something Grandma did for herself because she liked it.  There was a second quilt that was in the box with this one.  Along with it was a hand written note asking me to keep this quilt in trust for Kiddo.  She didn't trust it to anyone else in the family because they were all  Republicans and might be tempted to burn it. 

My Grandmother was a staunch Democrat all of her life.  There was a running joke in the family about her love of donkeys (she had quite the collection).  In the note she said this was her "Democrat Quilt".  It's hard to see in this picture, but the border is red and blue stars on a white background. 

The donkeys are pretty cute.  This one is also hand quilted.  It's being stored until Kiddo is old enough to appreciate her family history.  

I feel very blessed to have shared a love of sewing with my Grandmother, to have been young enough and old enough to take the time to learn from her.  Grandma passed on to be with her Lord about 5 years ago.  I still miss her.  

That's it for my favorite things this week.  Thanks to Shay for reminding me of my "quilting roots".  Check out Quilting in My Pyjamas to see Shay's beautiful stitchery and other cool favorite things.