FAMILY MEMORIES

We go through the year from special day to special day. We check our work schedules. We plan family events. We look ahead to what's coming up in the next week, next month. We write appointments on our calendars, in our phones, in our minds - which ever works for us to keep track of all that we have going on in our lives. 

At this time of year life gets real busy. We just got through Halloween and elections (here in the US) and now we look forward to Thanksgiving and then Christmas.  Sadly we spend more time thinking about Christmas than we do Thanksgiving. I say 'sadly' because we usually are thinking about the gifts, and what to get for whom and what we want for Christmas. 

We check the sale ads. The Black Friday ads that have been out for a few weeks already fill our email boxes. We hear about all the sales on the TV.  We plan our shopping day for Black Friday to get up as early as we can to get the best deal. And this year you don't have to get up early!  Just stay up all day and night. Some sales are starting at 8PM Thursday night (Walmart).  What ever happened to one holiday at a time? What ever happened to breathing? Now instead of planning Thanksgiving dinner with family and relaxing for a day of football or just family sitting around napping, eating, eating more.....we sleep, eat and now shop.  It's not even just 'another day'. It's become the official shopping day for Christmas.

Let us stop and rest our minds. Let us spend time remembering what we are thankful for this month. Many are posting on facebook each day the things they are thankful for. We are thankful for family, friends, jobs. We are thankful for our talents, our hobbies, our time that we have to enjoy the blessings we are granted. We all write and talk about the things we are thankful for, and like those who come to the end of their lives it is the little things, the family times that mean the most to us. 

With that in mind it does bring me to quilting. Quilts play a part in the lives of so many. Start a conversation about quilts and chances are the person will have a story about a quilt in their life. Whether it was made by their mother, grandmother or another relative most of us have been touched by a quilt.  They bring warmth both literally as we wrap up under one, or in the warmth of memories of our childhood. 
For me it was helping my mother make one when I was 10. I remember how my father loved it because it was heavy. While it is a bit stained and warn I still have the quilt. I also have the memories of the fabrics that went into it (all from scraps of fabrics that Mom had made our clothes from). 

This year, think about the memories you have of family, growing up and quilts. Let's make memories for our families. If you don't have the time to make a quilt this year remember many quilters, including myself, have quilts for sale. A label can be made to go with the quilt to add the memory whether you made it or bought it for them. 

I will leave you for now with those memories starting to overtake your thoughts. Memories both past and the ones you'd like to make for others. 

Have a great day and.....
Til next time --- -keep those needles stitching. 

Phyllis