The quilts before I was a quilter

Helen and I like Block Lotto.
This is were we get inspired to try a new pattern even if it is just one square. Sophie, the talented quilter who manages this blog, asks in the "Weekend update" section to share. Sometimes it is a theme. This weekend she asked: How did you start Quilting? Well, how did I?

That question is answered if you read one of my previous blogs: click here!

But I made two quilts before I was a quilter. I never wanted to become a quilter. I was a lacemaker and that was that. Don't know whether I really can call myself a quilter now but I am still a lacemaker.

I made one for my oldest daughter Helen when she was a teenager. It was a project we did together. She selected the pattern and helped arrange the squares. Don't know how I found the pattern. I had heard about 'nine-patch ' and I used the plastic heart container of German marzipan sweets to draw around for the cut-outs which I machine appliqued with a satin stitch. Very amateur!

 LOTS of the fabrics were left-overs from dresses my mother had made for the girls. Lots of memories in this. I hired out for the hand quilting to a friend from the church we attended at that time.










There are 5 1/2 years between our daughters. So there came the time when the younger Sarah should get her quilt too. She wanted a crazy quilt. I had written "directions" how to make those squares and asked family and friends to contribute a square. We got several but by far not enough. Quilts were really not a German or British thing at that time. So I had to finally get busy myself because she wanted it bigger. 

All the ones I made start with a photo in the middle. Sarah selected which should be part of it. One from every important section in her young life.

Well, not all have a photo. This heart was a leftover from Helen's quilt.

And this butterfly was stitched by Sarah as a girl scout project.

A photo of Sarah with one of her very special friends on the way to high-school prom. Her grandmother (my mother) sewed her silk dress. Underneath (the triangle) a piece of that fabric.

The third square on the left down has another leftover from Helen's quilt: part of a nine-patch.

And do you see the photo of the pickle in one of the squares on the right? Sarah has a reputation about those. Yes, lots of thoughts went into this one too.

I am sewing on the binding. No idea what I am doing, ha-ha. If I would take a close look at it these days I probably would cringe. I know a little bit more because these days we can google. It's more then 11 years ago.










Ha-ha, Sophie, probably much more then you wanted to know!

It is not a secret

No, there is no denying!

Who's belly is this you might ask?
Yup, William is going to get a cousin. James and I are going to become grandparents a second time.

Sarah and Wade are so excited!

They told us shortly before Easter. They had invited us for dinner after their return from vacation. After arrival Sarah told us we needed to help with some Easter eggs (blown out empty ones) for hanging as decoration. We each took one and dipped it into a color of our choosing. When I took mine out again I found that it had some writing on it ...

We took the eggs home and they had to live in James' office ever since. We could not hang them up right away on the Easter egg branches before at that time it was still a secret.

The eggs said:
Baby Waller
Hatching Nov 2013

I bet you could have heard me shriek three blocks away!

And then when Sarah was far enough along and an ultrasound revealed the gender, Sarah and Wade sent out these cards to friends and relatives far away:

Especially our relatives are so far away. As we like to know what is going on in their lives so we are all sure though that they want to know what is going on in ours. And, of course, prayers for a good pregnancy and safe delivery are very much appreciated. And so far so good! Doesn't she look cute?

Ah, and yes, here is the reveal: 

I am very happy to watch Sarah "grow" into motherhood. She handles this as anything else: cool and collected. And yes, the nesting instinct has kicked in. The house was evaluated which room should be the nursery. The "wii-room" was declared to be it. Some remodeling was done, a door from that room to a closet closed and an opening made from the closet to the master bedroom done. A great improvement.

Some choices for the paint for the nursery in the picture below. But none is the one. Wade's parents came to do the job. 

Now we are talking curtains. I think I am hired to sew roman shades. I better start googling for the know-how instructions now.

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Nashville time

Last day for now. Have to get back to Virginia tomorrow. But today we have more time with William. Too hot to go for a walk in the pm so we decide after his nap to go to close-by department stores. He has a great time running off some steam. Even tried out a dorm chair. I think he has a few years until college.

Exercising our grandparental rites of spoiling we also went to the DQ. William invented a new game captured in the video!

Bye-bye William! Hope to see you soon again!

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Special Nashville weekend - blessed day

Friday June 5th ... Sarah and Wade arrived at Nashville Airport. This is going to be a special weekend with my girls and their families. William knows their names and it is so cute when he calls them. 

We all take turns finding new ways to set up Williams favorite ... the train track.

Helen has worked for quite some time on a gift for her husband. Time to give it to him.

William helps to unpack.

Ben loves his new quilt. Helen still has to do the hand-sewing around the binding but she decided it would be easier if she didn't have to do that in secret. It had been difficult enough to keep it a secret so long. Proud of my girl. She did a beautiful job. So talented. 

After-nap-time snack. He is doing pretty well with the fork too. Video!

We were not blessed with the most beautiful weather this week and unfortunately it made a dent into our Saturday plans. There is a creek in the back where there is none usually.

It let up in the afternoon so we went to Cheekwood to have lunch and then we walked around the gardens a while. It kept dripping from the trees though and the benches were wet.

We were all wondering what this is? Those "rivets" went all the way to the other side.

We decided to stop at a famous ice cream place on the way home. Helen says that this is a famous place!  Sarah was entertaining William while we were waiting. Fishface?

Finally!

No nap today!

A little bribe to take a bath at Omi's so that he could fall asleep in the car going home.

Well, it worked. William had a good night's sleep and was awake early enough for church. Service starts at 9 am. This is St. Phillip's bulletin of this Sunday:

We were all SO PROUD of our boy. He could not have been any better. Those in the congregation who were not already surely fell in love with him. We even heard about some teary eyes.
Got some Videos:
Here! (only 11 seconds, operator error)
And here!

Godfather Jon had a fancy camera and there will be some nice pictures later.

Afterwards we had a little party at our place.

We had fruit and nibbles and yes, mimosas (besides ice tea etc.)

And Kathy's recipe original and vegetarian breakfast casserole!

We were 14 so we were all over the place.

Ha-ha. Helen had found the top layer of the cake from the wedding blessing ceremony in England (March 2006). In England and often in Germany you save the top layer for the baptism of the first child.

It is usually fruit cake ...

 ... which I normally like. But no, this one is beyond it.

Wimbledon (muted). Andy Murray won. Yeah!

In the picture above you can see behind William his great-grandmother Geegee who celebrated her 90th birthday on Saturday. Congratulations, Jessie!

After everybody had left, we watched some photos and videos thru Apple TV. Everybody had fun with that and William loved seeing himself.

At 2:30 James had to bring Sarah and Wade to the Airport. It was so nice to be together as a family.