A few weeks ago I received a "soft package" in the mail, unexpectedly. It was from our friend Susan. Dave and I were honored to be able to assist her last summer when her husband, Dave's college roomie, passed away suddenly. She was left with a basement full of tools and equipment that she didn't know what to do with or what their value was.
We made a quick trip to Lincoln, Nebraska to create an inventory list with actual values as well as realistic re-sale values. But while there, Susan, who is also a quilter, and I managed to sneak away for an afternoon with a third friend from a nearby town and visited the International Quilt Museum.
The entire story of that trip is told over on "In Memory Of".
In August, Susan and her daughter had taken a vacation road trip to Colorado to visit one of her husband's sisters and we had planned on making arrangements for a meet-up somewhere in between where they were staying and where we live, but the timing and our schedule simply did not allow it.
She shared in her letter that while with her sister-in-law they had visited several quilting shops during the "shop hop" week and that she thought of me. Upon her return home she had once again visited the "First Friday" event at the IQM and recalled our visit the year before and purchased a fat-quarter that "caught her eye" with the museum's logo on it.
What a sweet note... It certainly brought a smile to my face! Now I just need to have some sort of great and inspired idea to use it.
The article was discovered by my letter translator, Amy and it states that the testimonies of the war and post-war events were typed up by the Grandsons of Walter Hesselbarth - Klaus' sons. I had expressed my desire to locate the Hesselbarth family...
And just a few hours after publishing the letter/pattern I had a message from a reader stating that she had located an obituary for him from 2012, but it included the son's name and mailing address.
In hopes that he has not moved, I wrote a letter telling him of his father's letter requesting assistance with cashing a check and receiving some provisions - Tobacco and cigarettes, specifically.
With fingers crossed and a little prayer whispered, I sent it off.
How long does it take for a letter to make it from the United States to Albstadt, Germany??? According to my quick search, the average delivery time is 12.9 days. Is this total days? Or is it business days?
I guess I need to keep busy and a bit distracted for at least the next 10 days.
I have had some recent finishes and some secret sewing with pattern testing. But I will leave that for another post...
My To-Do list this week will include:
❧ Piecing the top for the third memory quilt in a month. This one features some college shirts from football and dance team events. I have the blocks backed with fusible stabilizer so piecing it shouldn't take much time.
What else??? Sadly, I think I will be spending less time in my studio than I would like, but sometimes there are simply tasks that MUST get done...
The Sew Along posts and stories do not write themselves... neither do the patterns.
I have just one pattern left to write and I have been putting it off because... well, there are just a lot of little pieces to it and I really have not been in the mood... Piecing is much more fun than writing... BUT I MUST GET IT DONE. Quit procrastinating Melva! So I am putting it out there...
❧ Write the last Kansas City Star quilt block pattern.
I probably should clean house... and I hope that we can sneak away to the mountains before all of the aspen leaves drop. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago I was feeling really ambitious???
I think I have asked this before, but...
What do you do to get motivated to tackle a task that you have put off long enough?
Leave a comment... I love to hear from you!
Want to help me stay distracted? Search your archives for some quilts that you completed during October of any year prior to 2020 and link up photos or blog posts in my Throwback Thursday Linky Party. Show me some eye candy and let's celebrate some fantastic finishes from years gone by.
Piece Out,
Melva
Hi Melva! I have to say that putting any task out here, in blogland, is incentive for me. Usually, just the task of adding a checkmark and done is enough, but the accountability adds another layer to ensure I finish the task. How nice to receive a special package in the mail with a note - just knowing your friend was thinking about you makes it all the more special. The LAST KC Star block pattern already?! Egad. Pieces goes through March but I know you need to write/test them ahead of schedule. Thank you for linking up this week! ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to find the article and the address and be able to add a little to the family history for this family. I hope the address is good still, or at least forwardable.
ReplyDeleteNow I'll be racing through your October posts to see the results of your letter! Putting a task in my blog will definitely motivate me, and then sometimes I provide myself with a "reward" for doing a task I'm not so keen on. :)
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