“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our
courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point
in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet
ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is
more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our
destiny.”
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/change
Leap Day every four years has a special place in my "decade plus" diary. It has a whole page and there are only three entries. Leap Day 2012, however, was not a great day for me. I learned that our beloved local quilt shop partners, Jim Helms and Bob Silverman, had left The Joyful Quilter for the adventures of caring for family and for whatever the quilting universe has in store for them. Susan Pettengill, store owner, continues to bring all that The Joyful Quilter is and has always been to the area with, yes, JOY!
(Photo lovingly borrowed from Facebook.)
(Photo lovingly borrowed from Facebook.)
Bob (on left) and Jim (on the right) were more than partners of my favorite store, they were always friendly, kind to my omnipresent and not exactly quiet children, willing to offer an idea, a "Really?" when needed, and just good kind men who share my passion for quilting. As teachers Jim and Bob offered something for all levels of student and will continue to lecture and teach. They already have a pattern and template line available on the internet. Check out Jim's (and Bob's) Quilting when you have a minute.
Where do I manage to funnel this negative energy which change brings upon me?
Have I taken up drinking? Smoking? Shopping? Excessive romance novel reading? Too much time on Facebook and Pinterest?
No, instead I quilt.
Here is my latest tribute to change using the Twister Tool from CS Designs that Bob sold me the last time we met.
Using 10 inch squares, of lovely batiks from The Joyful Quilter, I arranged them in this way.
Then I bordered the piece with a sunny batik patterned fabric.
Finally, I squared up the blocks, resewed them together in rows............
..............and the end result is this beauty!
May the pinwheels of change be kind to you Jim, Bob and Susan!
All my best,
Lynn,
This Quilting Mama
Lynn, I dont always read your blog. But, I was poking around on facebook and saw your post. I too was sad to hear about Jim and Bob. I too can handle many things, but have trouble with change. I kept reading....... I also found myself quilting as I go through an unexpected time of change. In the last two weeks I have finished two quilt tops and prepared one of them for quilting. I would have started to practice my free motion quilting on it already, but Joanns didnt have the foot I needed. I will have to wait till Tuesday. Keep blogging and I will keep reading. It was so nice to see this one today during my time of change. <3
ReplyDeleteA lovely, lovely post and an accolade to two amazing gentle men. May life only bring more goodness into their lives and yours as change becomes one of soft transition. I have been naming a lot of quilts using the word change lately in the themes. Must be a sign of our times!Love your quilt, pinwheels spur on the winds of change but in a fun and playful way!
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