An interlude

While struggling to baste the Down & Dirty Civil War Repro Quilt, I found myself experiencing an interlude of interruptions or, as I’m prone to say, life happens. 

The quilt became a flimsy last week—I think Wednesday. But the next day while accompanying a dear friend to the hospital for a heart cath, I ran into the bestie of one of our daughters-in-law, and learned that her father was in the hospital and not doing well. The next day one of our sons landed in another hospital and is still there. And the day after that, the father of the daughter-in-law’s bestie died after surgery; his funeral was today.  

And that is why this past Tuesday morning while I wrote this, the quilt is not finished. The backing was taped to a table and the batting was resting on top of it. I wanted to complete it by this weekend when David and Emma are supposed to be moving into their new home. 

But at 4:00 am Tuesday morning I was sitting in my son’s hospital room, listening to all the beeps, bells and alarms emanating next to his bed…and he was snoring, too. If he can sleep through all of that, I’m grateful for it and it means he’s getting better. 

So the quilt can wait. 

My dear friend that had the heart cath got the good news that the doctor would not be cracking open her chest any time soon. She and I are grateful for that, too.

While sitting in the dark in my son’s hospital room, I observed the staff moving from room to room, making their rounds and tending to their charges. I am exceedingly grateful for the wonderful care team our son has and their encouraging words. 

I’m quick to volunteer for sitting with someone while they are in the hospital or recuperating at home because I’m grateful that I am not the patient. 

So the quilt can wait.

I’m home now, and the Hubs helped me get the quilt basted. He’s home this week due to Mother Nature’s latest ice and snow dump; we haven't been able to go anywhere since Tuesday afternoon. The good news is that our son is starting to show signs of improvement. 

Every stitch I make on this quilt I consider to be a prayer for his wellness. I am stitching straight lines in the sashing and cornerstones, and using my embroidery module on The Beaut to do a simple traditional quilting motif from Embroidery Library in the 6" squares:

I'm still deciding what to do in the setting and corner triangles. 

The quilt will not be done on time, but I hope to finish it soon. I also hope that within a few days I can report that our son’s health continues to improve; today he's been in the hospital for a week and will finally get some real food (hopefully). 

In the meantime, go make.