Sibling Revelry!

I was thrilled one of my quilts was exhibited at AQS in Des Moines.  This was my first opportunity to exhibit at a 'big' show.  I was even more honored by my family who drove from Minnesota and several different cities in Iowa to converge on, for most of them, their first 'big' quilt show too.  Here is my fan club with my quilt in the background.

Stephanie, John, Jane, Lloyd, Julie, me, Beth, Judy, Jo

Stephanie and myself

Julie, me, Jo & Judy

Here is a photo of me with my quilt.

High Trestle Bridge Quilt

I traveled to the eastern part of Iowa with my sisters after the show and stayed with them for the rest of the week.  This is where the sibling revelry begins.  I'll just touch on a few of the highlights.

Julie, me, Jo & Judy

They took me to a wonderful quilt shop' Helios Stitches N Stuff, in Mount Vernon, Iowa.  The owners are so nice and very knowledgeable about their fabric.  We learned some fun facts about the origins of some of the fabric designs.  I bought quite a bit of fabric to bring home and play with in the coming months.

Christmas is coming!

The next day started out a little drizzly so we had a mini quilt-in with show and share as well.  I brought supplies with me to make blocks for the 70,273 Project.  

supplies

I borrowed this explanation from Jeanne Hewell-Chambers blog as she explains it best.

"Between January 1940 and August 1941 (before the Holocaust began), 70,273 physically and mentally disabled people – men, women, teens, boys, and girls – were murdered by the Nazis. Though they never even laid eyes on the disabled person they were evaluating, the Nazi doctors read the medical files and, if from the words on the page, the person was deemed “unfit” or an “economic burden on society”, the doctor placed a red X at the bottom of the form. Three doctors were to read each medical file, and when two of them made a red X on the page, the disabled person’s fate was sealed. Most were murdered within 1-2 hours."

This month and November there is a sibling challenge.  I put one X on a square and one of my siblings puts the second X on a square.  If you need a refresher on the 70,273 Project you can find more here.  There are three different sizes of squares so I made one of each for each of my three sisters who were at the 'party.'  I'll have to mail some to my fourth sister(wish she could have been there too) and maybe my brothers. We figured three of the four of us might have received red X's and sent off on the buses never to return.

Julie's blocks

Jo's blocks

Judy's blocks

snacks and provenance forms

hard at work

We let the guys join us for dinner!

One of the reasons I might be on one of the buses is because I have lymphedema.  Last Sunday I went to a 5k to raise money for lymphedema awareness, education and research.  My husband and I are on the far left in this photo. 

Emma's Lymphedema walk/run 5k

We are all members of the Minnesota Lymphedema Advocacy group working to get the Lymphedema Treatment Act passed in Congress.  Please consider contacting your Congressman and urging them to support this bill.  Here is a link to send a prewritten letter to your Congressman.  Quick, easy and painless.  Thank you for your support.

Just before I left home I finished piecing and quilting this small quilt for the project.  Eventually there will be 70,273 squares with two red x's in over 1,000 quilts.  It isn't quite finished in this photo but I guess I was so excited to send it off in the mail I forgot to snap one when it was done.

Two of my sisters brought their inherited antique quilts for show and share.  Enjoy the show.  They are beautiful.

We also did some antiquing around the area.  One of the places we went is called Sisters Garden and Bloom in Kalona, Iowa, so of course we had to take a photo of ourselves in front of their sign.

When you see anything with blue type that means you can click to link for more information.
Have a Creative Day
Janet

Hot, hot, hot!

flowers in my garden

Spring/Summer are always a time for me to slow down with the fiber arts.  I love the beautiful cooler days of spring and early summer.  We are getting to the hot, hot, hot days now though so I will be spending more time inside.  Thank goodness for air conditioning! I have lymphedema, a milder case than some but I am definitely not alone.  Three to five million people are estimated to be affected by this disease and yet very little is known about it.  Kathy Bates has recently become the national spokesperson for lymphedema and is helping to bring awareness.  You can click her name to hear her tell why she became the spokesperson.

There is no cure but there are treatments that can help significantly.  It took 25 years for me to find a doctor who knew what was wrong and knew I could get help for this problem.   I am talking about it so others might realize there is treatment available and it does help. My left leg and foot are swollen from extra lymphatic fluid in the tissues.  This is not edema they are different problems.  Mine is considered primary (which means I was born with it) even though it didn't really become a problem until I was pregnant with my first child.  Some have the condition at birth. The sooner people receive treatment the better the outcome. Many people such as Kathy Bates develop lymphedema after surgery and/or cancer.  I am fortunate as I have decent insurance and it covers the cost of two compression stockings per year.  (They are over $500 each)  Many people don't have this coverage and can't afford the help they need.  Visit lymphedematreatmentact.org to learn how you can help.  Here is a little poster that explains more about this disease.

Anyway, heat makes my problems worse so I am inside more than out now.  The last few days I started to catch up on the Craftsy BOM taught by Jinny Beyer.  I have all the blocks through July completed now.  I need to start cutting out the flowers I will appliqué on five of the baskets.  Once I get that done I will almost be caught up.  I think this will be a beautiful quilt.

Craftsy BOM 2015

I have also been spending as much time as possible with my sweet dog.  He just passed his 14 year check-up.  Not doing quite as well as he used to but still living the sweet life.

Mocha Chip

My husband and I did a 5k on Saturday for the Suicide Prevention Collaborative in our county.  Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers in Minnesota.  These people do wonderful work so it felt good to support their cause. I'm glad it started at 8 in the morning before it got too hot.

Suicide Prevention Collaborative
Together it gets better

Expect to see more posts from me about quilting etc., since I will be spending more time inside.
Have a creative day!
Janet