This week's post is going to be somewhat short. It's late on a Saturday night and I'm kicking myself because I got NO quilting done today. My husband and I own a rental property about 15 minutes from our residence that we are preparing to sell. I find myself a little melancholy as I talk about it simply due to the way things have gone astray. My husband's brother has been our tenant for the last four years and at one point desired to buy the property. During his teens and twenties, my brother-in-law had definitely taken a route different from that of my husband and myself having gotten involved in drugs pretty heavily. He and my husband were not close for all those years, but in 2004 after the passing of my Mother and my husband having been diagnosed with testicular cancer, my brother-in-law seemed to want to change his life and for the next eight years, we helped him to get established running his own small business, getting a job in a large grocery chain and putting him in our rental property with plans for him to lease-purchase. My brother-in-law became a devoted uncle to my daughter as well. About a year ago, he began dating a woman from work and he changed. This relationship caused him to become very disrespectful to us and brought the relationship to a point of almost complete severance. My little girl lost her uncle and got her heart broken. The Christian in me knows that I have been forgiven of a multitude of sins and that forgiveness sets me free....the Mommy in me will never forget. The brother will be moving out in the next few days and we've decided to sell the property. I am sad for him because arrogance and pride have completely changed the course of his life, and I mourn for what could have been for him. But our lives have changed as well since we purchased that property. Life has become busier and time is at a premium, my girl has us running around to soccer games and tournaments, and of course, my quilting and fabric business has already grown to be nothing short of an amazing miracle. This week, I got the privilege of teaching my inaugural "Quilting Beginner's Boot Camp" class to some amazing and eager students. I loved every minute! We will meet for four more weeks and by the end, they will each have made their first quilted table runner! iPad case mania has slowed a bit, but after a woman from church asked me to make her a Bible cover, I had another soccer Mom order THREE Bible covers for Mother's Day gifts! I am also finishing a beautiful table runner that was a custom order---it's gorgeous in Anthology Fabrics "Bonjour" line. This was the project I had wanted to finish today before I ended up committed to working at the rental. I also encountered another individual today interested in my "Boot Camp" class starting in June, and as soon as things slow a bit and school is out, my daughter and I will be starting a quilt for her own bed. Her bed is a beautiful solid oak Amish built bed, and oh, I can't wait to see that quilt on there bringing a smile to my face, and hers, everyday. My husband and I have been able to use this situation with his brother to teach our daughter about placing value in your family and always making them your priority. It has also enabled us to show her that "I love you" and "I'm sorry" are empty words if they aren't followed by action. This time in our family's life makes me think of the Log Cabin quilt block. The Log Cabin block has a long history and in modern times has had many different variations. After my first American Flag project, the next quilt I made was a Log Cabin quilt and the story I was told goes like this. The Log Cabin block has a square in the center surrounded by strips with light strips on one side of the square and dark strips on the other side. The center square is usually done in a color that stands out in the quilt and represents the heart of the home. The light strips on one side represent the good times in a family, while the dark strips represent the more difficult times. These strips in lights and darks surround that center square beautifully and then the entire look of the quilt can change depending upon how all of the blocks are arranged. I love the Log Cabin quilt. In fact, the quilt I had made for my Mother in 2002 and is pictured in an earlier post on this blog, is a Log Cabin quilt. Our family has certainly seen light times and dark times, as I'm sure your family has as well. I believe the dark times help us to better appreciate those light times, while the light times give us a source of hope during those dark times, and that center square, the heart of the home, is that family that we know "has our back" through it all. In the end, together, our lights and darks make a beautiful design. So I guess I was wrong and this wasn't too short after all. I'm so happy to be able to do this every week and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you for reading.
