Happy Belated New Years, my friends!

I know, I have been a terrible blogger these last few weeks. My sincerest apologies. Things have been very hectic with the holidays, as I am sure all of you know and with family.

I am so sad to say that Heidi's mom, Ursula, lost her battle with cancer shortly after midnight on New Years Day. It's been a rough time for Heidi and her family, getting things together and planning the memorial.

Yesterday I went over to help her sort through her mom's clothes, which was the thing she was dreading the most, probably also the most painful. I was over there for about 7 hours, sorting and visiting. We quickly found that there were some, several, items of clothing Heidi is quite attached to and just not ready to let go of. I suggested she make a keepsake pile and that I could do something crafty with them. It quickly grew and I remarked that I could probably make a quilt! She loved that idea so when I left last night I took four cloth Trader Joe bags full of clothes, as well as the boxes to donate.

This morning I called my step-mom, Gale to see if she would be able to help me start putting this together. She told me to come on over and we began to sort through things. She started to giggle as I explained to her my idea and how easy this would all be to do. By the time I was done, she was wiping the tears from her face, holding her tummy and rolling on the floor laughing. You see, I have no experience with quilting and haven't touched a sewing machine since Home Ec in the 9th grade.

Looks like I bit off more than I could chew! Not all of the fabrics are easy to sew, some of them will need to be mounted onto a backing. Thankfully Gale has plenty of sewing experience and her neighbor Marilyn is quilting queen, so she buzzed right over to give us all sorts of tips.

I spent the day today cutting off collars and sleeves and making each piece into a flat edge. Then I ironed them all. It looks like I will have 10 inch squares and they will be 5 across and 7 down. I need to pick up some things at the store in the next few days and Gale will help me start cutting down the squares.

Tonight I swung by my mom's on the way home and picked up her sewing machine. I let Heidi know via text tonight it might take me a long time to make this quilt, but I would get it done fo her. I think it is a lovely idea, being able to snuggle up with things of her mommys. She is very appreciative.

How did you spend your New Year this year? I was with my family, enjoying a good movie and a nice glass of bubbly.