Toujours Provence

“Meekness is vital for us to become more Christlike. Without it we won’t be able to develop other important virtues. Being meek does not mean weakness, but it does mean behaving with goodness and kindness, showing strength, serenity, healthy self-worth, and self-control. Meekness was one of the most abundant attributes in the Savior’s life. He Himself taught His disciples, ‘Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.’ We are blessed to be born with the seed of meekness in our hearts. We need to understand that it is not possible to grow and develop that seed in the twinkling of an eye but rather through the process of time. Christ asks us to take up our cross daily, meaning that it must be a constant focus and desire.” – Elder Ulisses Soares

Simpler Times Sampler

I love the look of hand quilting, but it's ever so much harder to do than you’d expect. The needles used in hand quilting are impossibly small. If you drop one into your carpet, the only way you’ll ever find it again is with your bare feet. My first (and possibly last) hand quilting project was the large quilt that’s currently hanging above my piano. I set up a frame in my living room so I could watch movies as I worked. No one could sit on my sofa with the frame there, but I believed it was only a temporary nuisance. When, after weeks of work, I’d only finished a few square feet, I began to wonder if I would live long enough to complete it. Before I reached the halfway point I realized I’d put the quilt on the frame wrong. I had to pull out every single stitch. When I was done, I happily paid someone else to machine quilt it.

Split Nine-Patch Quilt

If you visit the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, you'll notice an army of volunteers at work. They’re hard to miss in their lime green vests. Volunteers serve in many capacities throughout the hospital. They greet guests at the door and help them find their way. They train and manage therapy animals to cheer and comfort patients and their families. They man the hospital gift shops. Some even perform music for patients. These lovely ladies donate many hours every week to make the hand-stitched quilts that are given to hospital volunteers, employees, and to the L. Clark Cushing Heritage Center. Hundreds of the blocks I’ve posted here over the past five+ years went into the tops these wonderful women finished. The quilt top that just came down from my design wall is the thirteenth I’ve designed and pieced for them. In a way, I’m a hospital volunteer, too. Just without the green vest.

Greek Square Quilt

I do know how to make a Greek Square. I’ve made dozens of them. They have lots of colorful names like Churn Dash, Monkey Wrench, Hole-in-the-Barn-Door, and Fisherman’s Reel. I didn’t buy this quilt pattern for the block; I bought it for the charming double-diamond border. It was an added bonus that the pattern contained instructions for two quilts: a wall-hanging and a table runner. The directions warned that accurate piecing was necessary for the pattern to come out right, so I was even more than normally careful about cutting the pieces and sewing a scant 1/4 seam allowance. Still, the top ended up a full inch too small for the pieced borders. I did a little backwards engineering (wish I’d done the math BEFORE I started cutting) and realized the double-diamond border instructions were wrong in the first place. I want to try this border again someday. But if I do, I’ll design my OWN pattern.

Rising Star

Proud parents used to carry snapshots of kids in their wallets. No one does that anymore; instead, they post them online. I know you’re proud of your little ones. But the Internet is a vast and potentially scary place. It’s your job to keep your kids safe. Once a photo is out there, with or without privacy settings, it could end up in some pretty creepy hands. Please reconsider before you post a picture of your little darling in the bathtub, trying out that new potty, or dancing in nothing but a diaper. Online photos never go away. Your naked toddler is adorable today, but he might not appreciate it when he’s a teenager dealing with school bullies or filling out job applications. For safety’s sake, don’t share photos that show your child’s name or school. And before you upload pictures of his birthday party or soccer team, be sure to get permission from the other kids’ parents.

Greek Square Top

Friday afternoon Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone, National Guardsmen, and Anthony Sadler, a senior at Sacramento State University, were riding a passenger train from Amsterdam to northern France. Their peaceful trip was shattered by the sound of gunshots and breaking glass. “I saw a guy entering the carriage with an AK-47,” said Alek. “I just looked at Spencer and said, ‘Let’s go.’”

“Spencer made first contact; he tackled the guy,” said their friend Anthony. “Alek wrestled the gun away from him. The gunman pulled a box cutter and sliced Spencer a few times. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.”

“We just did what we had to do,” added Alek. “You either run away or fight. We chose to fight and got lucky and didn’t die.” If these three friends were lucky Friday, so was everyone else on that train. Everyone except, of course, the man with the gun.