I came across this Swedish Proverb a few years ago, and kept that saying in my mind. When Carla @creatininthesticks put together this "Music" blog hop, I knew it was time to transfer that saying into a little quilt.
Singing in the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is such a joy to me, and as we finished a recording session last week with guest artist, Sissel, I snapped a little photo of the empty hall. This is when two of my passions, singing and quilting, briefly collide!
"Give Thanks" panel quilt ~ (see TUTORIAL) fabric by Sandy Gervais for Riley Blake Designs.
Feeling so grateful for blessings - family, friends, and opportunities every day to learn and improve, to create and share. Also, super-glad to be able to reconvene with this amazing group of talented people, and thought I'd share that here. So happy to be singing again, could not help but smile (14:42).
My brethren, I have found
a land that doth abound
with fruit as sweet as honey;
The more I eat, I find,
The more I am inclined
To shout and sing hosanna.
Chorus:
My soul doth long to go where I may fully know
The glory of my Savior;
And as I pass along I’ll sing the Christian song,
I’m going to live forever.
Perhaps you think me wild,
or simple as a child;
I am a child of glory;
I am born from above,
my soul is filled with love;
I love to tell the story.
Chorus
My soul now sits and sings
and practices its wings,
and contemplates the hour
When the messenger shall say,
‘Come quit this house of clay,
and with bright angels tower.’
Chorus
And as I pass along
I’ll sing the Christian song,
I’m going to live forever.
Forever.
(Pilgrim Song, arranged and adapted by Ryan Murphy)
Wishing you all the joys of this happy season! Merry Christmas to you and yours! P.S. There's a little peek of Deonn singing "...O, come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem..." See if you can find her!
Our family is growing! We are thrilled to announce our new arrival! Meet "MO"!
photo courtesy of Sue McCarty
Little "Mo", as his previous owner called him, has arrived and we are busy setting him up in the studio, complete with his Statler computerized system. I'll need to familiarize myself with all his bells, buttons and whistles, (and hundreds of pre-loaded patterns) then we'll get busy after the holidays. My husband and daughters at home will also be learning to operate little Mo, too! So stinkin' excited!! Meanwhile, Bertha is still busy stitching up custom quilts - one more to go before Christmas.
~~~
And, Congratulations to my winners from three recent blog hops, whew!!
Kathy won a pattern bundle sponsored by Jacquelynne Steves on the "Sew Sweet Simplicity" hop. Such darling patterns! Love those cheery cherries. Next week will feature a new block and a new pattern bundle giveaway.
Vicki won a copy of the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol 10, plus a happy little stack of charm squares and supplies to make my "Spring" quilt block featured in the magazine. The applique' pieces are cut with my AccuQuilt cutting system.
Robin won a little Cardinal pincushion/ornament #littlebirdiepincushion from my "Twas the Night..." hop with the SewWeQuilt online guild.
And did you notice? Her name is ROBIN!! OK, so I couldn't resist making this one for her as well.
For the robin, I pieced the head strip and used the same print for the rest.
For the Cardinal ornament, I used a black pigma pen to color in around the beak,
then I used a large needle to add a ribbon through the seam for hanging.
Then I made a few more. You know, for Christmas.
~~~
And if that weren't enough excitement for one post, it was concert week last week! I sing in the biggest backup group in the world, and it was such a delightful week as we sang with our guest artist Santino Fontana (voice of Prince Hans from Frozen, and a darling!), along with the Muppets! That's right, from Sesame Street! Big Bird, the Count, Grover, Bert & Ernie, Rosita, a new-to-me little sweetie--Abby Cadabby, and of course, my favorite little Elmo! Here's a highlight:
... and hanging out in the vendor mall at a quilt show makes me happy!
Working at the AccuQuilt booth
Meandering through the backroads of the Kentucky countryside with a quilty friend
to see barn quilts makes me happy!!
Is this thing working?? Idunno, we'll see...
Observing quilters' amazing creativity makes me happy.
Taluk, a Tentmaker of Cairo, demonstrates his applique' technique
Taluk's favorite quilt
Sue McCarty, with her 2014 HMQS Best of Show quilt, "After Hadrian"
(Saw several more of her previous "Best of Show" quilts at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah!!)
Learning new quilting techniques from renowned fabulous quilters makes me happy!
Claudia Pfiel with her 2014 HMQS 1st Place Art/Innovative quilt, "Fern Rising"
Teaching quilty stuff, sharing happy little tips that make other quilters happy makes me happy!
Anticipation of teaching this class again (Small Town Quilt Show next week!) makes me happy!!
And as you may have observed in my previous post:
Sharing a quilt makes me happy!
The perfect picnic, scenery, quilt, and company!
Having an excuse to spend time with my girls makes me happy.
(Quilt Shop-Hopping - see our adventures HERE<<)
In essence, yep. Quilting makes me happy.
And finally...
...It made me happy to hang out with the rest of the troupe
of the Home Machine Quilting Show committee last month
even though they made me sing to open the show each morning.
But, you could probably guess that music makes me happy, too.
Last year's theme was "That's Amore!"
This year's theme was "A Quilter's Symphony"
You'll just have to use your imagination...
Starts out with the tune of Beethoven's 5th Symphony and it goes like this...
H.M.Q.S.... H.M.Q. S... (Then cue the music for the >> Happy Song<<)
It might seem crazy, what I'm 'bout to say...
H.M.Q.S. is my favorite place...
Thousands of quilters wait for this day -
Where quilters share, without a care, baby by the way.
It makes us (Happy...)
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to test-drive a new machine.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
Come take a class, learn a brand new skill. (Yeah)
Every quilty thing, yeah, you'll get your fill. (Yeah)
And all our teachers are just "sew" fine. (Yeah.)
Much too much to do, now don't you waste your time,
And you'll be (Happy...)
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to check out the latest thing.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
(Insert a little Beethoven's 9th for this part of the chorus: "Freude, shoener" etc. keeping with the "Quilter's Symphony" theme...)
Friends from near and far now gather; Marvel at the quilts you see!
Passion, fabric & dreams combine to make this "Quilter's Symphony."
(Happy, happy, happy, etc.)
Can't nothin' bring me down, etc.
Because I'm (Happy)
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to test-drive a new machine.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
Clap along, if you're here, amazing quilts to see.
Clap along if you're here to check out the latest thing.
Clap along if you're here to shop until you wilt;
Clap along if you're here 'cause you just love to quilt!
(Repeat chorus while dancing around the sewing room, guild meeting, quilt shop or quilt show).
~~~~~
Whew! Thanks for making it all the way to the bottom of this long post!
What happy quilty things have you been up to lately?
1) Comment here for a chance to win a happy little stack of fat quarters.
2) Let me know how you follow Quiltscapes for a second chance.
3) Sing my version of the Happy Quilters' Song just for the heck of it. Ü (Substitute your favorite quilt show/quilt shop for the HMQS references)
Update: Contest is over and a winner chosen: CONGRATULATIONS, JANET!!
