Club Members

Six months ago, a young man in our church, Kyle, and I became members of a new "club"--one that neither of us would ever have wanted to join. I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Kyle was diagnosed with brain cancer. Oh my, such a devastating diagnosis for a senior in high school, just at the brink of so many new and exciting things in his life.

At that point, I doubt that I was ever on Kyle's radar. Other than being friends with his parents, why would I be? He was the lead drum major of a local high school band and active at church as well. Nearly overnight, he was in ICU, undergoing shunt placement, and getting ready to begin radiation treatments. He began radiation in January, the same month I began my treatments. I was only scheduled for 16 treatments, a walk in the park compared to Kyle--he was scheduled for 32.

Kyle's last day of radiation was February 12, mine was February 19.

Somewhere around this time, once I was feeling like I could begin sewing again, I knew that I needed to make a quilt for Kyle. He needed a quilt--and I needed the therapy of focusing on someone else. Win-win. I didn't spend too much time overthinking what a high school senior boy would think about receiving a quilt from a 66-year-old.

The Cabin Quilt pattern by Karen Lee (@quiltaposy) seemed like the perfect choice. I went through my stash and chose fabric from Carolyn Friedlander's Doe line, along with some charcoal fabric (side note: I'm not sure who the manufacturer of the solid fabric is--I know it's not Kona--but wow, did it ever ravel!!)

I was able to make the quilt top in a day when I was at quilt camp at Hartland in April. I decided on a wide back Grunge for the backing and then it was beautifully quilted by Darby Myers.

 My favorite block--because it looks so cool against the barnwood and green paint.

Yesterday, I took it over to Kyle. He was gracious and charming. I think he likes it. He called me his "cancer buddy." We are optimistic about his future. He's regaining his energy, attended his senior prom and is graduating next week. I'm praying for good news on his repeat MRI scan next month. Although our paths are very different, we will be forever bonded in this journey.

Selvaging My Sanity, 2019

Years ago, when I had my logo designed for Live a Colorful Life, I also had an Etsy shop (inactive for quite a few years) called Sewing on the Edge. I mostly sold custom selvage pincushions. When I decided I wanted/needed a tag line for my blog, someone suggested "selvaging my sanity...one stitch at a time." I loved it, and it became part of the logo.

Over the years, I have thought I should update my logo for a fresh look. But I've never been able to do it. I still really like it. But I often wonder if readers are confused about the tag line and wonder what I'm talking about...

Anyway, at the beginning of 2019, I had a general lack of energy, recovering from radiation therapy. When I finally felt like sewing, I still didn't have the mental energy to make fabric choice decisions--it all felt too overwhelming. I decided that working with selvages was the answer--I could make something small and cute. Matching just the right selvage to friends was something I could handle.

It all started with my dear friend, Lucy, who lives in Manchester, England. Her blog and instagram feed is "charm about you," so I had been saving all my "charming" selvages, and then I really hit pay dirt when someone threw 'I Love Lucy" into a bag of selvages they gave me.

I was sending Lauren some fabric scraps and decided to throw in something a little extra just for fun.

 I found some cute baking-related selvages. Brianne had sent me some of the most delicious cookies a couple of years ago, so when I found "full cookie jar, happy home," I knew exactly who was getting this pincushion.

Kelly has been a constant encourager in the last couple of months. She loves hot pink. I had to piece her name together, but the back is all Kelly.

Erika is a pie maker and flower lover. When I found "pie making day," I had to make a pincushion for someone who has been known to make 16 completely different pies on Thanksgiving day.

Laurie spends her days counseling people. She is a "piece maker," but also a "peace maker." My friend Molly designed the fabric I used for the back, and I think those are probably phrases Laurie has used in her work.

Paula is someone who writes the most beautiful comments on my blog. They are thoughtful and heart-felt, definitely "noteworthy."

Tracy made the most gorgeous quilt, Tula Pink's butterfly pattern. It was not without its challenges. I'm not sure she exactly had "sewing woes," but that seemed appropriate.

Nicole is well-known for her creative and modern hexie designs. And Diane lives in southern California. I had set aside that little scrap of California Bolt Hugger fabric for the longest time before finally using it.

Deborah just moved to Texas, to the hill country actually. Obviously she needed a pincushion with a couple of bluebonnets on it, y'all.

And Jeni loves this color of purple.

Anne loves to hike, loves the color green and everything Kaffe Fassett. Mary's shop, Sunny Day Supply, is one of my favorites--and the fabric on the back of her pincushion just seems very sunny and cheery.

Mary S. has been a long-time friend, Heidi also lives in Texas and has her own fabric lines, Clara sews lovely things, as does Gwen.

Shawn is in business with her sister, Mary, and of course they also sell notions. Janice and I have been known to drink a glass of wine or two (see it there on the right?), Linda does gorgeous handwork, and Sarah lives in Montana, in the great "outdoorz."

After I had all of the pincushions sewn together, Charlotte came over and helped me stuff them--she turned out to have a real knack. I hope she will agree to help me out again.

Along the way, long-time friend Lotti is teaching her granddaughters to sew and thought a pincushion for each of them would be a fun gift. I searched through my selvages and believe it or not was able to come up with something to personalize each one--Willow and Lily. Lotti took it from there and made them each the cutest little sewing kit.

We had such fun going through selvages for the girls. I hope Lotti and I can have some sewing days this summer.

It's always fun to see the pincushions in use--Lauren's lives on her ironing board and Sarah's is on a shelf with some other treasures.

I spent some time organizing all my selvages by theme. Obsessive? Maybe a little. But now I'm working on blocks for my first selvage quilt and it's such fun. Each block has its own little theme. I'm using the whirlwind block designed by Amy Friend of During Quiet Time.

I'm not done with personalized selvages--there are still so many people on my list. Pincushions will be completed when I find just the right selvage for each of them.

Do you save selvages? If yes, what is your favorite thing to make with them? If no, why not??