That's Billy

I was about 6, flipping through a family photo album when I came across a snapshot of my mom holding the hand of a little boy.

"Who's that?' I asked, expecting Mom to name one of my brothers, David or Jim.  "That's Billy," she said.  "Oh," said I, and continued flipping through the album.

I was probably in my teens when I learned that Billy was also my brother, my parents first-born son, named after my father William.  Billy sadly had a birth defect that took his life before he was three.

Family lore is that my maternal grandmother made this quilt for her first grandchild:

After Billy died, the quilt resided in a cedar chest in my parents bedroom until the 1970s when my second brother had his first son whom is also named William, so my mother sent them the quilt. I don't think it was ever used after that, just hung on display in their house. The second William isn't interested in keeping it so when I was at my brother's house after his funeral, my sister-in-law, knowing my interest in quilts, offered it to me.

The interesting thing about this quilt is that it is entirely appliqued, even the little squares!  I have learned from friends who know more than I do that it was a Bucilla kit #1148A.  I suspected it was a kit as I can see faint lines for placement of the pieces as well as lines for quilting.

It was just called "Child's Bed Applique Quilt" and appeared in Woman's World Book of Needlework in 1936 (Billy was born in 1937).  You could buy the complete kit for $2.25 in 1936!

Credit to my friends in the Midwest Fabric Study Group for confirming my suspicions.

My Hero

My husband has been a rock throughout my recent disability, doing the cooking and laundry in addition to general nurse-maid duties.  I'm not going to trade him in on a new model any time soon!

I have to ask, though, how many husbands would go above and beyond to this extent?

There he was several years ago digging through the fat quarter canoe at Lolly's in Shipshewana, Indiana, looking for yellow FQs!

As I've said before, I married a gem.

De-accessioning

The time has come for me to part with many of my completed tops.  So today I passed three on to our Devo and Sew group to be finished as comfort quilts.  These are some of my favorites; I don't remember exactly when they were made.

The first one is Granny's Stars, a pattern by Nancy Mahoney.  According to my paperwork, the pattern appeared in a 2009 issue of  Fons and Porter magazine.  I took this class with her in 2016.  I call it Baik Beauty.  I finished the top at our February Loucon retreat in 2023.  

Next is a Cynthia Brunz pattern she calls Geese Migration.  I saw it in a magazine and simply HAD to make it. I love the progression of value in the blocks, though I was not completely successful in all of them.

And, finally, this is another one I saw in a magazine.  I thought it was called Tumbling Triangles, but I can't find any documentation to support that.  What looks like black is a really dark green and I used all my pastel florals for the strips. 

I don't mind parting with my tops when I know they will go to a good cause.  To me, the pleasure is in the making!

Tough Week

I hope all my friends who were in the path of Helene are safe and sound.  I sure feel sorry for those in western North Carolina.  Fortunately my friends who were retreating in NC were able to return home safely.  We had no issues here on the Plateau; not even enough rain to bring the lake up to the bottom of the dock.  But, then, we've been in a drought since summer.  

I didn't get the best news from the neurologist this week and will have to get another myelogram before possible surgery.  Hoping whatever he decides will help me walk.  However, anticipating the worst, I've had Alex move my primary sewing machine up to the bedroom.

It sure felt good to stitch a little this week.  I'm thinking I will make this a permanent installation by bringing the Koala table up, as well.  I'll move my project boxes into a corner of the bedroom and add shelves in one of the guest bedrooms for fabric and supplies.

And to top off the tough week, my older brother passed away peacefully.  My other brother and I serendipitously visited him in the hospital on the same day while we were in Virginia earlier this month.  So now another long drive to Maryland is planned.

Bucket List #2

 In 2020 we accidentally started a tradition of attending a professional golf tournament each year, assuming it's in a warm location in winter, or a cool location in summer.  So far we have been to Hawaii and Southern California twice.  This year was supposed to be Phoenix in February but my "little spill" prevented that.  The tradition has not become "Bucket List" worthy, however.

On the other hand, my desire to attend an international golf match was list-worthy and we managed to tick it off the list earlier this month when we attended the women's Solheim Cup -- U.S. vs Europe -- at the Robert Trent Jones Club in Gainesville, Virginia.  

We won!!

Alex, Me and SIL celebrating the victory.

I was so grateful that our tickets, which we purchased before Christmas last year, gave us access to the Clubhouse as well as valet parking!  That was the only way I could have managed.  We were close to the first tee and the stands there had an ADA elevator.  Otherwise I spent most of my time watching on TVs in the clubhouse.

In case you're wondering we took two days to get there and get home with stops every hour to stretch.  I'm still recovering!  But it was well worth the effort.

Bucket List #1

Before I get to the Bucket List item, I want to say that Tennessee has GREAT state parks, from pocket wilderness to expansive golf resorts.  Tennessee is one of only a handful of states that does not charge admission to their parks.  Several (about 6) of the larger state parks have lodges in addition to cabins and campsites.  In the last several years some of these lodges have been renovated, and sometimes replaced, to be more hotel-like with microwaves, mini-fridges, and bars.

Our first Bucket List is to experience all of the lodges.  We usually schedule a visit in connection with a birthday or anniversary.  So it was that we went to Natchez Trace State Park for our anniversary earlier this month.  Of the six lodges, this was our fifth.  Pin Oak Lodge at Natchez Trace is possibly the oldest yet-to-be renovated in the park system.  In fact, it will close on December 9 to be demolished and replaced in 2027.

We had a spacious 2-room suite overlooking Pin Oak Lake.  This is the view from the balcony outside our room.

It is a lovely and peaceful place -- a great test for my all-terrain rollator and a test for my tolerance for sitting in a car for up to 4 hours (related to Bucket List #2).  And, fortunately, it is exactly halfway between us and our son's family in Arkansas so we have scheduled our Thanksgiving celebration to be there.

I came through the test unscathed (with hourly stops to pee and stretch) and ready to experience Bucket List #2.

43+ Years

On a Friday in August 1978, the house was sold, the divorce finalized, and the rental truck packed with all my worldly possessions.  He got the cats; I got the kids.  On Saturday and Sunday I drove the truck from El Dorado, Kansas back to Nashville to be close to my aging parents.  Monday morning I started my new job as a specifications typist at an architectural firm.  This dapper dude popped into my cubicle to invite me to the company canoe outing on Saturday:

Unfortunately I was not able to accept the invitation.  The following week I invited him to have dinner and meet my boys.  Unfortunately he was not able to accept the invitation.  We started having lunch together and that was IT.  We took three years to be sure it was the right thing, then we tied the knot on September 5, 1981.

He has been my rock and has gone above and beyond the call of duty in my recent confinement.