Happy New Year!
On Thursday this week Maria invited Ida and me over for a day of quilting in her recently cleaned studio.
When we arrived we found her living room to be a feast for the eyes. She had her lovely Christmas quilts hanging on the wall.
and many other beautiful quilts folded over ladders.
Along with clocks! So many clocks! And they were all at different times!
So, we had to ask. Her answer got me to thinking about time – a thought very pertinent, since we’ve just started a new year. Time can crawl, or it can fly (like all of 2016). It is also of the essence, and this related to Maria’s reply.
She said that time is very, very precious. It’s the most valuable thing we have. Food, things, people, and just about everything else can be replaced, but when time is gone – it’s gone. She loves to go thrift store shopping and look for old or interesting clocks. This was the point when we noticed none of the clocks were at the current time. When asked she replied her clocks represented important dates in her life: her dad’s birthday, March 12, was 3:12 on one of the clocks. Her birthday, October 9, is 10:09. Each clock meant something. Wow! I had never noticed that a 12 hour clock could represent the dates for a 12 month year.
Then she showed us the one set for three o’clock to represent the time of Christ’s death for her sins. She said she has the alarm on her phone set for that time each day, so she will pause and remember His sacrifice. I think I may be in need of a few more clocks 🙂 .
We each got quite a bit of quilting done, plus a lot of good conversation, and a nice lunch out. Maria showed us the quilt she’s been working on for almost a year, Jinny Beyer’s Moonglow. She has one more border for the top to be finished.
Gorgeous! Thanks Maria, for a delightful, and insightful, day.
My wish for the new year is that you will have time to do what you love, and to spend with those you love. And that you will use it wisely. God bless you in 2017!
Laura Krasinski says
What a great blog post. Maria is such a talented quilter. And a very sweet person. Thankful that she has come to find Jesus and he is guiding her through her life as he is mine. Beautiful Quilts!! And I love the clocks and her idea behind the different times.
Deanna Jaloviar says
I like the idea of displaying the quilts on a ladder. I saw her house on Friday, and so cute!
Pam says
Thank you for your thoughtful and delightful blogs. I look forward to reading them every week. Blessings to you and your family.
Fiber Art says
Thanks for such an inspiring blog, Chris. Maria is a joy and shared with me a few months ago about her 3pm reminder. I’m thankful to be in open lab with her and many others who share our faith openly.
connieyersin says
Maria, what a wonderful home filled with love. Your quilts are an inspiration to us all.
Patricia Nieman says
Beautiful quilt! Such vibrant colors!
Barbara Abplanalp says
Thanks for sharing the clock story, Chris. I will view time differently now – as opposed to a photo print that our grand-daughter created depicting time as running over itself in crazy circles – which I often felt it did. 🙂 The Jinny Beyer quilt is beautiful too – love those colors.
Pat G says
Love your ‘time’ story and Maria’s quilt. Will have to remember the 3 o’clock time of Jesus. Always love your blogs, Chris. You mean so much to Bob and I. I just showed him these pictures and read him the story. He just smiles.
Bonnie Camp says
What a wonderful way to use old clocks. And to focus on your faith at a certain time each day.
When you go to Cape Breton Island, and I hope you will, I hope you stay in Baddeck in the center of the island. We had breakfast at a beautiful lavender and green café just off of the main street when we were there. It felt like a tea shop. It might have been called the Hummingvird café. I bought myself hummingbird socks when I was there. Or on the main street is another coffee shop called the Yellow Parrot. It was pretty good, too. And the shops in Baddeck were nice to wander through. We were vacationing there for a 10 day music festival and saving our $$ for CDs so I didn’t get fabric. There is beautiful glazed jewelry (glasss fired) in many of the shops on Cape Breton Island. The gardens in the yards off of the main street were beautiful!!!!!
Alice Brooks says
Beautiful story! And I absolutely love the Moonglow quilt. I have pondered buying a kit. They are getting harder to find!
Ellen Schwantes says
Chris, this blog is one of your most interesting. I like the idea of the clocks and may have to start looking for a few at the thrift stores.
Janet Sabol says
The clock reminder at 3 pm is great! I enjoyed your bog so much today. Happy New Year, Chris!
MaryAnn Woelfel says
Love this post! Maria is insightful and very talented! The moonglow quilt is absolutely beautiful! I had never thought of using clocks like this. Things to ponder…..
Barb Jordan says
Thanks Maria for sharing your thoughts of time. What a wonderful way to remember the ones you have loved in your life. Every time I see your quilt I love it more and more.
Linda Koller says
Gorgeous quilt! I love Maria’s use of old clocks, but especially her setting aside 3 pm for Jesus. I think I just might have to set my alarm each day to spend time with Him and my prayer journal. Happy New Year!
Laurie Neubauer says
Chris,
Thank you for sharing Maria’s home pictures and her journey through time. I was especially thrilled to see Maria’s quilt finished. Having missed several open labs because of surgery I didn’t know if I would ever see it finished. Through you God provided the way. God blesses the hands that work to the glory of God. And Chris thanks for ringing the bell for the Salvation Army! Happy New Year..?
Laurie
adunate says
Beautiful quilts, Maria. Love the 3 pm setting. I’m taking on your idea!
Barbara says
Hi Chris, I have a question for you.How do you tell the difference between the right and wrong side of batting? This is never been talked about much. Thank you, Barbara
clkquilt says
Hi Barbara, What a great question. I must admit, I’ve never thought much about it, nor have I paid attention when layering my quilts. I did a bit of web surfing to find answers and I think the APQS website covered the topic well. You can read all about it at: http://www.apqs.com/batting-has-an-up-and-down/ . I will pay more attention in the future!