With Heart and Hands: December 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Quilting, Sewing, and Wildcrafting in 2011

Looking forward, looking back...so many things that were incredibly challenging...but so many good things that I can rejoice in, and be grateful for, as well.

Thank you to all of my dear blogging friends who have supported me, lifted me up, and held my thoughts and prayers as your own. I am so deeply grateful that I have this blog in a life that travels back and forth between my caring, and my care giving, for so many loved ones in my life.

There have been huge losses, and many sideways slip sliding, but there has also been one foot forwards at a time where I can see the gains, see the progress, see the good that I was able to create, and give to others.

All the proof positive that I need that there is a time between the darkness and the light, the world that lives upon the edge of time where nothing is either black nor white, but simply shades of beautiful, glorious color!

Color, fabric, magic, and dream time. All we need to enter into a New Year with new and endless possibilities for making a difference....one little piece of artful quilting, sewing, or wildcrafting at a time, one little post, one tiny poem, one ray of sunshine, one softly beating heart beat...it's yours to choose!

I chose my magic for the creation of memories last year.....and now it's time to choose again! Oh, what shall I create next?

2011 in review:

Quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative: 21 quilts completed, 18 on sale/exhibit/sold
Quilts to Various Charities: 21 baby or lap sized comfort quilts
Quilts as Gifts and Misc./Small Projects Completed: 20 projects
Wildcrafting: 17 Concrete Leaf Moldings, 4 batches of home crafted paper, 2 twig chairs

Michele Bilyeu Quilts With Heart and Hands for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) Join in my Liberated Quilting Challenge...and buy or donate a quilt, today!! We are changing the world...one little quilt at a time.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

1852: Mathematical Star by Lucy Loomis

Lucy M. Shepherd Loomis, who was born in 1824 in Massachusetts, became a very accomplished quilter. She made this spectacular quilt which she named "Mathematical Star' when she was just 27 years old.

Lucy's quilt follows the traditions of the time by incorporating scraps of fabric from her trosseau in two of the blocks and chose a challenging pattern known as Blazing Star, Bethlehem Star, or Lone Star.

But Lucy choose to name her version the Mathematical Star. As you can see she placed her yellow fabrics for most impact with rings of yellow diamonds in the pieced star where they almost seem to vibrate with energy.

Her reds and yellow tulips are tied with a pink bow. Red symbolized love, but also joy festivity and passion. Yellow was for faith, goodness, intellect, and intuition. Motherhood was then represented by the pink bow and meant to not only bring together but to join all of these elements as one.

The three roses all symbolize birth, life, and death, and stand for the Holy Trinity...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

If you look at the butterflies and birds ..they are all on branches. Butterflies represented our souls and immortality, while birds manifest as transcendence or rising above our mundane lives to an eternal and immortal one.

And then, of course, there is the pineapple and the grapes and other fruits of the harvest. Pineapples signify hospitality and when combined with grapes, which represent wisdom and sacrifice, creates a blend of fruit representing fertility.

Her workmanship is considered almost perfection and she combines the traditional Baltimore album style with individual applique' blocks. She uses applique', reverse applique', stuffed work, buttonhole stitching, and embroidery.

As Lucy made this quilt a year before she married, it would appear that she was creating her own version of her own wedding quilt......one filled with all of the good omens, hopes, dreams, and wishes that she wanted to bear fruit in her marriage to George T. Loomis, the following year.

And these same wishes are mine for all of you this holy Christmas season and the beginning of a new year and new challenges, transitions, and changes.

I wish you love, faith, goodness, intellect, and intuition, passion, energy, and fertility required to grow in your own creative endeavors and in your own lives from this time, through transcendence and into immortality. And may be all leave behind at least one really special quilt that will outlive us in the memories of all who follow us!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and thank you Lucy for you mathematical and blazing lone star of Bethlehem!

Michele Bilyeu Quilts With Heart and Hands for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) Join in my Liberated Quilting Challenge...and buy or donate a quilt, today!! We are changing the world...one little quilt at a time.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Winter Solstice

From ancient times, the winter season has been seen as part of balance of nature...a time where the balance point changes between the darkness and the light.

As with the falling of the leaves, it is a time for change and a natural time for letting go of all that which seems dark within one's life. A natural time for making choices to bring in the light...both to lessen the darkness within, and to open ourselves to life's full grace and beauty.

Throughout history, in all of the world's cultures, through belief systems, festivals, traditions and practices, the changes in the cycles of birth, death and rebirth have been intrinsically and symbolically honored. From this honoring comes our holidays...our 'holy days.'

When we walk between the veils of one season and the next......or one change or one emotion and the next...or even one 'holy day' and the next....we find ourselves always balancing our emotions...balancing the dark emotions, the very ones which create power and change, or the light emotions, the ones which bring in joy and abundance.

Winter Solstice falls on December 21 (Northern Hemisphere) or December 22 (Southern Hemisphere) and is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun.

Solstice is of a Latin borrowing and means 'sun stand', referring to the appearance that the sun's noontime elevation stops in its progress. It is both the shortest day, and the longest night of the year. Many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At their root is the ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless humans intervened with some vigil or celebration.

The Winter Solstice has always been associated with the birth of a divine king in many different cultures, long before the rise of Christianity and the blessed birth of the holy infant, Jesus.

Since the Sun is considered to represent the male divinity in many pagan traditions, this time is celebrated as the return of the sun god where he is reborn of the goddess. Other cultures have similar beliefs and associations.Many cultures celebrate or celebrated a holiday near (within a few days)of the winter solstice... Yalda, Saturnalia, Christmas, Karachun, Hanukkah, Festivus, and Kwanzaa.

Christmas, like all holy or holidays, is a special time of remembrance of both the birth of the new divining power and all of the symbols of home and family. It is a time when we can most acutely feel the greatest darkness or the brightest light...a time of giving, of receiving.....or for some a time of loss of light, and a feeling of going into the dark.

This is a deep time and a sacred space, a time and a symbol for all of us about being lost, facing those emotions and feeling the sadness, the yearning, and the grief that such loss brings into our lives.

But with that darkness, comes the sacred birth of a new light and all of the wisdom, power, and knowledge that this sacred birth created and brought into our lives for transfiguration and rebirth.

We create our gifts of abundance, we manifest blessings and peace, and we enter into a new place of well-being and joy. Celebrate with the gifts of nature, the gifts of our hands, and the many blessings and gifts from our hearts.

Happiest of Holy Days from the light of my heart to yours.

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With Heart and Hands: Winter Solstice

© With Heart and Hands,
Michele M. Bilyeu

Michele Bilyeu Quilts With Heart and Hands for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) Join in my Liberated Quilting Challenge...and buy or donate a quilt, today!! We are changing the world...one little quilt at a time.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Free Redwork and Embroidery Patterns

At almost 96 years old, my mother-in-law, Dorothy, still does 'fancy work'. As a someone who taught herself to sew, to quilt, to embroider, to applique, crochet, and knit, she has made homemade gifts and loved this Christmas holiday, all of her life.

Now, her hands lack the agility and skill she once had and, one finger has a snapped tendon, and she is recuperating from two mini-strokes or TIAs. Bbut until this past week, she was still embroidering 'tea towels', hot pad/potholders, pillowslip/pillowcases and much, much more.

We are caring for her in her home, through Christmas and she is doing really well. My husband is there around the clock, day and night, and the rest of us come in and out to visit, help, and spread healing Christmas cheer.

So, for Dorothy, and for this time in her life, I am sharing a small list of free redwork...or embroidery patterns

shown above:
one little 'hotpad' that Dorothy made, and I received years ago. Isn't she just sweet?

Sorry, for being out of order a bit...time is short for posting and edit panes will not co-operate!

The first set..by the month...are free for download all over the web, but I found mine a lovely quilt site : www.grandmasatticquilting.com

Free Redwork Designs and Embroidery Patterns:

January - Sleepy New Year
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 160 KB)

December - Santa
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 187 KB)

November - Turkey, I Love You
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 150 KB)

October - Carving the Pumpkin
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 177 KB)

September - Feeding the Squirrels
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 150 KB)

August - Batter Up
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 110 KB)

July - Uh Oh
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 105 KB)

June - Summersplash
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 100 KB)

May - Flowers
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 114 KB)

April - Swept Away
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 112 KB)

March - Saint Paddy
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 316 KB)

February - Valentines
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 157 KB)

January - Snowman
Click image to download the pattern (PDF Format 137 KB)

Redwork Snowman

Redwork Snowman

LITTLE RED RIDING
HOOD

HUMPTY-DUMPTY

3 LITTLE PIGS

THREE BEARS

MARY HAD A LITTLE
LAMB

LITTLE BO PEEP

3 LITTLE KITTENS

LITTLE MISS MUFFET

MARY MARY QUITE
CONTRARY

LITTLE JACK HORNER

LITTLE BOY BLUE

SIMPLE SIMON

Kitty Trio - Free Redwork Embroidery Pattern:

Here is a merry trio of kitties that will liven up your next redwork project.

Click on the image above to get the full-size design

Redwork Alphabet Series...links take you to the original site with credit given:

Work the entire alphabet in Redwork. Each design measure 5x5 inches and is worked in basic surface embroidery stitches including stem stitch, back stitch, running stitch, French knots and detached chain stitch.

Pages

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Quilting, Sewing, and Wildcrafting in 2011

Sunday, December 25, 2011

1852: Mathematical Star by Lucy Loomis

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Winter Solstice

Monday, December 19, 2011

Free Redwork and Embroidery Patterns

Redwork Alphabet Series...links take you to the original site with credit given:

. Redwork Chicken Weathervane

3. Lovebirds Pattern

Lovely Embroidery Patterns from Needle and Thread

Hungarian Embroidery Patterns

Monograms for Hand Embroidery

Church / Ecclesiastical Embroidery Patterns

Online Resources

Quilts4Kids + Free Cross Stitch Patterns