Today, I was able to upload five more of my Civil War Love Letters blocks designed by Rosemary Youngs. I hope you will enjoy taking a peek . I am uploading five at once so I hope to add more later in the week.

In an earlier post I mentioned my dear Christmas friend, her name was Rosemary. She was a wonderful, robust German girl I met when I lived in Indiana. We were fast friends because of her outgoing personality. I loved my friend. She called me everyday and talked for hours about??? I have no idea!!
We moved away and she and I kept in touch the best we could, I had 8 children she 6, but every Christmas eve for 20 years the phone would ring sometime after midnight and we would talk and laugh until Santa had finished his chores and left both of our homes. She was a devout Christian and a wonderful Mom, she loved 'folksy things'. She loved the work of the Amish and she would have loved my quilt. Rosemary died Easter three years ago. I feel her loss every Christmas eve when the phone no longer rings. A sadness creeps in where so much joy and laughter and friendship lived. I am thankful for the many years Rosemary blessed my life. I am also grateful we had a chance to meet one last time 5 years ago. Each Christmas eve since her death I look at the silent phone and I hang the house ornament on the tree that she gave to me to remember --and I do.

Pleasant Campaign

Jan 17, 2009 What a wonderful day..pleasant one might say. I have been sewing away and now am caught up on Civil War Love Letters blocks. I will now have an opportunity to work on Dear Jane BOW, and Heart-2-Heart swap blocks, then off to the park for a brisk 3 mile walk, and there are household chores to be done. The work is light when you have had the opportunity to sew. I am blessed.

No Serious Fighting

I love a day when there is no seriuos fighting And today was the perfect day for serious sewing. I enjoyed the day communicating with my sewing machine and and caressing my fabric stash!! Blessings to have such a peaceful relationship.

Skirmishing Cannon Firing and Uproar

Block completed 1/17/2009

Last night we had dinner at our son and daughter-in-law's house and afterward I played with my 2 1/2 year old grandson..he made quite an uproar! He jumps up and down when he is excited so cute...His baby sister, who is 4 months old, watched as he was laughing hysterically over a funny face his mommy made and the baby began laughing with him. Skirmishing--no cannon fire--but an uproar of fun was had by all.

At the time I finished this block "Severe Fighting", our country was about to inaugurate our new president, Barak Obama. I will lift him in prayer, he is to be our 44th President and he steps into office during severe economic problems and we have soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He will need the guidance of Almighty God and I pray President Obama will seek His will in this nation's future.

This Block titled," Liberal with Furlough" was actually finished after Thanksgiving. We had a houseful and now it is quiet. Liberal with furlough I guess means everyone gets a chance to go home and visit with loved ones. At times like this we think of our children coming home but also of the loved ones who have gone home to be with the Lord. I miss my Dad, so often he is on my mind. He wasn't always the "best" Dad but he was certainly always "mine". I do not know if our family had any traditions at Thanksgiving, perhaps we blessed the dinner or maybe some watched football but I remember my Dad at the head of the table, shirt with big pockets, long john sleeves under his short sleeved shirt,(always made by Mom),carving the turkey. The night before the house was filled with the excitement of preparations, my job was always crumbling the bread for the dressing. I hope my kids remember something about our Thanksgivings and I pray they are thankful for those days. I'm grateful for special family days and I am proud to be the Mom who fixes the feast. And I am thankful for quiet days after when I can make a block or 2--not necessarily a shirt with big pockets.

Civil War Love Letters

Here are my first five blocks of the Civil War Love Letter Quilt designed by Rosemary Youngs. This quilt has a lot of foundation piecing which makes it go fairly quick. I have trouble deciding on colors for the blocks so they are random. When I begin to put the quilt together I may change some that aren't right. I hope to add the next ones soon.

I am encouraged along this path by the designer of this quilt via an online group and each week we are assigned a block and are also encourage to journal our progress. I have enjoyed this process too.

Sorrow of War.. My Dad was a veteran of WWII and he passed away 5 years ago. He was laid to rest among his comrades in a brand new veteran's cemetary. Each time we visit we are alarmed at how quickly the cemetary is filling. The men who served during World War II are almost all gone. If you know one, honor him, he saw the sorrow of war.
March in the Mountains.. I am quite sure they are referring to a hike through the mountains but I thought of family times when we were able to take kids to Colorado on spring break. We have been blessed in the mountains. One of our sons was born in Colorado, we found a son-in-law there and we were told of a new granddaughter on the way! March in the Mountains has been good to us.

Heathful region...I am thankful to be in a heathful region. I Chose the pink square for the center for breast cancer awareness. I lost three friends in an 18 month period and they are on my mind. I pieced this block at Christmas time and I was thinking of them. In a later post I will tell of my dear Christmas friend.

A Secession Ball... This block went quickly for me. It was nice to have a time of peace and simplicity for I know full well it will come to an end . I will have to rip out some of my sewing to get the block just right.

Enthusiasm...I chose red, cream, and blue for this block becasue I thought a little enthusiasm for our country would be nice. Patriotic quilts are beautiful and they make me feel proud.