Delphinium

July 24, 1847 the first group of Mormon pioneers reached the Salt Lake valley that would become their home. Driven by religious persecution from a land founded on religious freedom, they had braved all manner of danger and hardship to come to a land that promised more of both. Many of them left comfortable homes in the East where they would have been safe if they would denounce their faith. Many were buried in shallow graves by the way. Yet somehow when the pioneers looked out on this treeless, friendless landscape they rejoiced and set to work making the desert “blossom as the rose.” They built homes, churches, mills, social halls and temples; not necessarily in that order. They dug wells and irrigation canals to provide water. They planted gardens, orchards and fields of grain. They laid out wide, straight roads. More importantly they set an example to future generations of unshaken faith and undaunted spirit.

Double Pinwheel

At a forum sponsored by a Christian group called Q designer and former actress Jessica Rey gave a speech titled ”The Evolution of the Swimsuit.”  She mentioned a study suggesting when men see women dressed immodestly, they’re more likely to treat them as things rather than people. Her words sparked an internet storm. There were people who applauded her remarks and others who discounted them. Some felt women should dress modestly to protect themselves. Others claimed it’s not the responsibility of women to keep men from having impure thoughts. Some said it should be every woman’s right to dress as she chooses without being judged. The truth is, they’re all right. In a perfect world we SHOULD be free to dress as we wish without unpleasant consequences. But the world we live in is far from perfect. Regardless of gender, how you dress speaks volumes to everyone who sees you. What do your clothes say about you?

12" Cutting Cattle

Last week we came home from visiting our son, daughter-in-law and new baby grandson at the hospital and noticed a picture on facebook posted by one of our dear friends from England. It was a picture of her holding HER new grandson. “What a coincidence,” I thought, “We both got new grandchildren the same week.” Suddenly I realized the photo was from same hospital we’d just left. How had we not run into each other in the hall? Then yesterday our bishop announced that a couple who had newly moved into our neighborhood had just been blessed with a new baby boy. You guessed it; my friend’s daughter, son-in-law and two young grandsons are new members of our congregation. We made a batch of “welcome to the neighborhood” cookies. While delivering them we ran into the young couple’s next-door neighbor: our daughter’s teacher. To say it’s a small world doesn’t begin to cover this.  

Nonsense

Many cities and towns in Utah observe America’s independence July 4th. They put their hearts and souls into pancake breakfasts, marathons, parades, beauty pageants, carnivals, concerts, rodeos and firework displays. Other communities commemorate Pioneer Day twenty days later in exactly the same way. It always strikes me as odd that we wave the American flag to celebrate the fact that our ancestors had to flee the United States in search of religious freedom. My current home town splits the difference with a week-long celebration between the two holidays. We’re particularly looking forward to today’s fair in the park. It’s a bit like a market day in England, but with a decided American flair. There will be booths selling all sorts of interesting things, and one promoting the campaign of a dear friend who’s running for mayor. If you can’t drop by for a visit, at least you can click “like” on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/electPhilShell .

Contrary Wife

I made a block very similar to this one in May 2007 in red, white and blue fabrics. It’s part of the quilt that covers my bed. I posted another one December 28, 2011 in red and white. It’s set in a redwork quilt top that is waiting to be quilted. Both those blocks were called Union Square. They differed from this one in that they had a simple economy block at their centers, with sixteen half-square triangles around the borders. I was looking at those blocks the other day and decided it might be easier to get the points right if I built it like a nine-patch with a quarter-square triangle on each of the four sides. So I made this block to test my theory. I was right about the points. They all clicked together like magic. But somehow I don’t find this block quite as charming as the other two.

Two-Patch Variation

“When a new baby laughs for the first time a new fairy is born, and as there are always new babies there are always new fairies. They live in nests on the tops of trees; and the mauve ones are boys and the white ones are girls, and the blue ones are just little sillies who aren’t sure what they are.” My second grandson made his debut late Tuesday night. His big brother is at our house while his mom is in hospital, so there wasn’t much time to make an elaborate quilt block. Instead, you get this simple one and some excerpts from James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan: “She flew away with Peter in the frock she’d woven from leaves and berries in Neverland. He never noticed; he had so much to say about himself. She had looked forward to thrilling talks with him about old times, but new adventures had crowded the old ones from his mind.”