A Hero's Party

The party for Matt was last night. I even got my DH to go with me and he is NOT a party person, but he does love Matt too so we went together. I have to say I felt a little like Cinderella going off to the ball. Weird, huh? I was so excited to finally be able to give the quilt and the book to Matt. It was so nice that all of you were emailing me and telling me to have fun and that the quilt looked fantastic, thank you for that. So I wanted to show you the label after I put my stamp on it, I almost forgot to do that but here it is.


Now off to the ball party. When we arrived Matt was on the phone but as soon as he saw me he told the person he had to go. He came over and gave me a great big HUG!! Oh yes he did. I told him I had a little something for him and handed him the quilt, in the pillowcase. He asked me if it was a pillow and put his head on it and I told him no and he said, "a quilt?" and I said "of course". He took it out but couldn't unfold it because of his arm so his mom, Terry and I unfolded it and he was stunned! So was everyone else in the room. Matt just came over and thanked me and hugged me again. Then I gave him the book and told him all about how his quilt came to be and of all the help I had and how loved and appreciated he is. He just kept thanking me over and over. Terry wanted me to put it on her DR table, so we cleared off the table and draped the quilt over the table. Matt came into the DR with us and was thumbing through the book and he was just so impressed with all that you guys did for him. At one point he said, "people wrote on the back of the blocks?" I told him they did, because they wanted their gratitude and love quilted right into the quilt!
My DH had some elbow reconstruction a few years ago and used these little hand exercisers to help regain the strength in his hand again so he brought them to Matt and they spent some time talking about rehab type things. Sorry about the blurry photo.

Then I asked Terry if I could see the purple heart and she brought it out. So cool! I took a picture cuz I knew you would want to see it too!

Then I asked him if he would hold it and let me get a picture with him. He really didn't want to hold it, very modest. He felt like he was showing off, but I asked him to please hold it "for me" and he said, "ok, I'll hold it but just for you."

So now you can see me a little thinner too, LOL. What do you think?
Anyway, it was a wonderful night. Terry was the one who cried over the quilt. Here we are too, thought you might like to meet Matt's mama.

We have been friends for a long time and through many ups and downs. It was a good night.

I just have to once again say a huge thank you to everyone that made a block and sent a note. You have no idea how much you touched my heart and Matt's family's hearts too. You should all feel so good about yourselves. I know it is not the same as what every military person does for us but we all do what we can and just know that it was sooooo appreciated by Matt and his family! Thank you.

Saturday...So Far So Good

Today was an amazing day. I got up and went to the gym (of course) and weighed in (even though the challenge is finished.) I lost another 2.6 pounds and broke another major milestone for me!! I am close to another girl in the gym so we decided to see which of us will break the next 10 pound marker first, a little contest for us both! Then they did their monthly measurements and guess what?? I have lost 23 inches overall so far!!! I am so excited about that too. I just had to share that with you all.

I almost forgot to tell you, the ABS crunch challenge was today. That is where we had to crunch for a whole hour without stopping to raise money. I had my DD1 come and count all my crunches and guess how many I ended up doing in an hour? 1680!!!!!! Who knew I was capable of that?? Where did that come from?? At one point when I was about half way through and groaning a little DD looked at me and said, "C'mon fatty you can do it!" We both busted up laughing and it is so difficult to keep crunching when you are laughing!! (she was kidding and I knew it, so don't think she was being mean or anything) I raised some money for St. Jude Children's Hospital and now my body is incredibly sore!! The crunches were after my hour of aerobics too. I feel pretty good about all that. Then I came home and had to make the label for Matt's quilt. You want to see it all done? Here ya go:

Can you see the quilting that is the star, within the star, within the star? Probably not, but it is too cool. LTW quilted it in red thread.

Now for some close ups of the quilting.


PTM did the binding for me and it is beautiful as usual. She also made a pillowcase to put the quilt in. You can see it here along with the book I put together with photos of all your blocks, notes and some of the finished quilt top.

I thought and thought about how to do the label. I finally decided to make the label like I usually do but before I sewed it together I embroidered a purple heart around the label. Then I put all the words on it. If you notice I wrote the names of everyone that sent me a block all around the inside of the heart. I just remembered I need to put my stamp on the label so will take the quilt out and put that on the label, sorry no pic of that! What do you think of this idea? He received the purple heart so I wanted to incorporate that somehow.


Oh and here were my helpers. They stayed there the whole time keeping me company while I worked. Big help huh?


There is a BIG party at Matt's house tonight so I will be able to give the quilt to him tonight. I am so excited!! (and a little nervous) I will try to remember to take some pictures tonight to share with you all tomorrow too. Now I am off to relax for a little while and then get ready.

Matt's Quilt Top is DONE!!!

I finally received the blocks from Carolyn two days ago. They came all the way from Saskatchewan , Canada!! They had to come a LONG way all the way to Michigan. She is the second Canadian to make blocks for this quilt. PTM is Canadian too even though she lives in MI. Your blocks are awesome, Carolyn, thank you very much!!


In addition the lovely Carolyn sent me a beautiful needle case. Thank you again, for your thoughtfulness!!

I got the Veteran's quilt back from LTW yesterday and thought you might like to see the quilting on it. Stars and loops, very simple but very appropriate! Thanks, LTW!! Your work is great as usual.

So last night I had quilting (no not at the church) with the Canton Area Quilt Guild (our new name). I brought the veteran's quilt to trim (it is ready for the binding now) and then I worked on Matt's quilt. I managed to finish the top!! I am so excited. I will be handing it off to LTW today. I am so pleased at how it came out!! I did put all your names and where you are from on each block that you sent to me because I wanted anyone that saw it to know it was a group effort. I can't thank all of you enough for helping with this quilt. I think it will mean even more to Matt that people he has never met took the time and effort to do this for him! Bless each and every one of you!!

I guess I need to get busy making some binding for this now (PTM do you have any 2.5" strips I can use for the binding??) Next up is finishing the sail boat quilt.

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and all is right in Mama Spark's World today = )

More Blocks for Matt

I am i the home stretch now with blocks. I received these beauties (in the adorable Mickey and Pluto *red* envelope) yesterday from Sharon. Aren't they cute?



Now I just need Carolyn's, and I can finish the last row!!! Keep your fingers crossed that they come in the mail today so I can finish it tonight. I am also waiting for the journal to come that I ordered too. Did I tell you about that? Ok, I didn't think so. Here's the story about that.

I went to several places looking for a journal/scrapbook/notebook type thing to put all your wonderful notes in to Matt, along with some writing on my part. No one had anything. Surely the ginormous Borders by my house will have one right? NOPE! Nada, Zip, bubkis. So I walk up to one of the managers and ask,"Excuse me but do you have any patriotic/RWB/flag/military type journals?" Manager, "Did you try over at the journals?" (Me in my head, "Why no, I'm that much of an idiot I would never have thought to check the journal isle for a journal") What I said was, "Of course I checked there. Is there another place where patriotic things might be?" Manager,"We only have those things around near the fourth of July". Me "Well, I guess it is pretty inconvenient that in this time of war our brave men and women are injured year round and not only near the fourth of July!" And I walked out. We are in an active state of war to begin with and why would they not carry something journal wise that at least had a flag on it all the time? I have no idea. So I went online and ordered something from Cafe Press. Sheesh. And real life stores wonder why the internet shops are putting them out of business, really? Now I have to hope that it arrives soon.

So on that note, it is sunny and warm and I need to go for a walk. Have a good afternoon!!

Matt's Homecoming!!

Just wanted to give you all an update on Matt. He came home today. I was not able to be there but DH and DS were both there as were a LOT of people with flags and well wishes. They all gathered and lined the street where he lives (and the streets leading up to that street also). I spoke with his mom today and she said as they approached the sub there were police cars on the corners of the entrance and when the police saw them they turned on their lights and Matt asked what was going on and she turned to him and told him it was all for him!! He was completely surprised and overwhelmed!! My DH told me that Matt was crying. This kind of thing seems like the least we can do, right?

My DH got a chance to talk to him. Both my DH and Matt had their smashed elbows in common so they were comparing their arms. DH has this weird device he used to regain strength in his hand and we will be giving it to Matt to use. It helped so much. Here is a photo of the xray of Matt's arm.

Lots of metal in that arm!! I asked his mom about the eye. She said he can see light and shapes. The doctors told him he has a "white" cataract on his eye. Not the grandma kind (his doctors words). In 6-8 weeks he will go in for surgery and they will see what they can do to improve his eye. I hope it goes as well for him as it did for me. Remember my whole new bifocal lens deal? Maybe they will be able to do something like that for Matt too.

I know they have lots of food and lots of people and it is very busy so I will stop over when it is a little quieter. She told me to stop by soon! I want to bring the quilt with me but will probably stop over before that too. She sounded so relieved to be home with her son and have him healing where she can watch over him. He is home for about a month.

I had a very strange day. I finally got to exercise for a little over an hour tonight. I am a little nervous about the weigh in at the gym tomorrow as I am down a little over 4 pounds and I want to see that on their scale in the am (I guess flu is good for something, huh?) Work has been crazy busy and there is no rest for the wicked. I got my car back and it is all fixed. The interior has been detailed and it smells like new car! They even shined up my tires!! DD1 is dog sitting for LTW while she is visiting her aunt this weekend so the house is quiet.

I have some interesting stuff to blog about but I am too tired to do any more tonight. I hope you have a good evening and wish me luck at the scale tomorrow!!

More blocks in the Mail today!!

I received 2 more blocks in the mail today for Matt's quilt from the Hunter family. I am not sure who they are but God bless you for your generosity! There was no note for Matt in the package though. If you would like to include one you can email it to me and I will print it off for you. Also, I have been writing on the front of the block the name of the person who made it. Since I do not have your first name I will just put the Hunter family. If you want something else please email me at:
mamaspark@gmail.com

Here are the beautiful blocks I received today:


I have posted all the blocks that I have received on my flickr account if you are interested and want to see. Please, please, please let me know if I should expect any additional blocks as I am hoping to finish this top tonight. I would hate to have someone send something and me not know and finish the top. On the upside, PTM and I will be making another one for another serviceman so if that does happen we will put it into the next quilt.

Thanks to all that have made a block or two and I will bring my camera tonight to get some pics.

Stomach Flu

Yep, that's right. I got the stomach flu on Monday night. I was in a bad way on Monday night. Vomiting and well...you know. Muscle aches and every joint hurt. So I spent the day yesterday off and on in and out of bed. It really sucks to have an entire day at home and feel so lousy I couldn't do anything. I was too weak to do anything other than roll over and pet a cat and fall back to sleep! I went to Pilates on Monday night and right after my stomach hurt. Well now I know why!! So, just in case you were wondering, I lost another 0.6 pounds last week. Small loss but I bet this week will be better, LOL.

I also received some more blocks in the mail. These 4 came from my friend Pat in WI. Thanks, Pat!

And these 6 came from my firend Dianne in CO. I love Uncle Sam riding the eagle. Thank you so much.

It has been so wonderful to be receiving blocks from all over the country from everyone. I believe Matt is coming home either tomorrow or Friday so I will keep you posted. Please keep him, his family and all our service people in your prayers. They have a tough job to do keeping us safe and free.

Sunday is Here!

I know I told you I still had lots to share so I guess you will have to bear with me. First of all, I received another block for Matt's quilt. This one is from Laurie in ME. This was her first attempt at a string block (there have been several that this was a new technique for). I think she did a wonderful job! Thanks, Laurie!!

I thought you might like to see the things I got in the mail from Fabric.com. Would you like that?? I thought so!! First up is the backing for Matt's quilt

Followed by a yard of each of these fun fabrics

And I could NOT resist these Nicey Jane fabrics, all of it was on sale too!!!

I just fell in love with Nicey Jane. My DD2 is in love with Verna by Kate Spain and that is what I chose for my Jelly Roll fabric for the quilt a long. Here is my first block. I really love how it turned out too.

It was tricky to get those little squares to line up right, but after ripping one of them out 4 times, it is as good as it is going to get!!!

Now I am off to work on cutting out a couple of quilts for PTM and me to work on at the next church group meeting. I sent out an email letting them all know that we will be working on quilts for the veterans. The quilts need to be 48 x 48" or larger and have a patriotic theme or used patriotic fabric. I am doing the pattern "Make Life Sweet". I am very excited to try this pattern with these colors.

Why? Because I can use some of the red and blue strips I have left over from Matt's quilt and hopefully it will go together quickly. I am making some changes in how we are working at the church. Only works of charity this year. After talking with Debbie Miller and father Pat, they would like to see us concentrate on doing works of charity to support the mission of the church. I think this is an excellent idea! No more idle hands at our meetings. Everyone needs to bring something, related to charity, to work on to every meeting. No one should be showing up empty handed. I hope this will allow the group to refocus and breathe some new life into it. First up are quilts for the veterans!!

The Weekend is Improving!

I have so much to tell you all I don't know where to begin! First an update on the van. Apparently the dealership believed they were at fault (hmm let's see, they touched it last, had the wheels off less than 2 weeks ago to replace my transmission). Now they didn't *say* that but they are fixing it for free, so what do you think? I have a loaner car and should have mine back sometime on Wednesday. I guess the repairs are finished but there is some repainting that needs to occur.

I think you should remember that a few weeks ago I was asking for stuff for a friend's friend that had left an abusive relationship with 3 small children. Several of you sent me stuff. LTW quilted 3 quilts and donated them and the CL's had one that they donated also. PTM put the binding on the 3 from LTW. My friend, Anne also went above and beyond the call. She made 4 pillowcases, put them on pillows and added a few extra goodies for the kids. I have not thanked her properly, so sorry Anne! Here are photos of the pillows. One for each child and

Two for the mama!

Thank you so much Anne, they are perfect.

Next I thouht you might like to see what I bought at Checker. I *tried* to be a little restrained but...They had fabric sample cards and I love those so I got a few. You can see there is a little Hope Valley in there and I was so excited about that!


There were several panels, some that will be perfect for the church. I loved the Manly line on the right. Those might make fun little guy quilts. I even found Santa on a motorcycle!! Too much fun. PTM and I always have a blast going through the carts of these and I think we spent at least the first hour or so doing just that.
I also got a little fabric while there. Some Nicey Jane charm packs (splitting with PTM) and she got some Hope Valley charm packs that she is splitting with me. I also got 2 JR of Delft in both the green and the blue. These are right up my alley!

I bought a few inexpensive books and patterns.

I preordered these things so we were able to pick them up when we were there.



I am particularly excited about the Liberated Quiltmaking II book but have not had time to go through it yet.

The last thing I will talk about on this post is that I received 2 more blocks for Matt's quilt from Barb L. Along with a note for Matt. Thanks Barb!!

I still have LOTS more to share but I will stop here, go check the mail and put in some laundry. I did make it to the gym for 2 hours this am. My DD2 is home so loads more laundry will be done tonight too.

I did manage to work on my JR Quilt a long block and get it finished. I guess you will just have to stop back to see that along with the other goodies I got in the mail!!

Recent Matt Update and more blocks

I spoke to Matt's mom today. He had the dressing on his arm changed today and it was pretty painful. He has also begun PT for the elbow and it is VERY painful. It is difficult for a mama to watch their child suffer but he is working though it. She is there and helping him with some of the every day stuff he still needs help with. She said the military has taken care of everything and everyone has been so nice to her and her family. I think her other kids and hubby are home and it is just her there. His younger brother was over today and said that Matt's eyesight is not very good in the eye that had the damage, but then he laughed and said it was not very good before, but he is beginning to see shapes and they have high hopes that he will regain the eyesight he had before the incident. Time will tell with that. Please continue to pray for him.

So I receive more blocks in the mail today from Kathy L


And from Yvonne:

As you may be able to see in the corner on Yvonne's block I put her name, city and state so Matt would know who made each of the blocks that came from all of the caring, patriotic people around this great country of ours! So if you have not sent your block(s) yet, please feel free to do the same or I will be happy to do it for you once they arrive.

Now you know I just could not stand it, with so many blocks in my hot little hands and en evening of quilting so...

I layed some of the blocks out on the floor and PTM helped me by handing them to me in order, then pinning them together and bu around 9pm we had this!

That's PTM on the left and me on the right. I look terrible! I was late to the gym. My dad came down to Ann Arbor today and so I went to pick him up and bring him back to the lab. Of course I had tons to do at that time so my friend, Holly, kept him entertained while I finished my DNA extraction, read my gel and cleaned up. Then I brought him back to his friend (that he had driven down to Ann Arbor for an eye appointment) and left to come home. It is always good to see him but it messed with my schedule! He is beginning to look and act so much older now. He is doing the old person shuffle and doesn't hear well. It is difficult to see this about your dad. Then I had to rush to get to the gym after I got home as I was taking photos for the blog and trimming blocks, but I managed 20 minutes on the eliptical. I rushed home, wolfed down some food and changed my clothes and ran out the door to quilting with the Canton Area Quilt Guild (that's our new name, formerly the Cherry Hill Village Quilters)

I have 3 more rows to do and the top will be finished. I am hoping to finish it this weekend. If you have sent your blocks I am waiting to put them in the quilt. If you have blocks and you have not sent them yet, please let me know so I know to expect them. I have space for 30 blocks! PTM is going to make one for a friend of hers who is in the service as well. He was not injured but he is a family friend, American, that married a Canadian (PTM is Canadian). So any leftovers that she and I have made will go towards that quilt.

PTM and I are making a trip to Checker in the morning to pick up some stuff so I am off to bed soon. I just took some muffins out of the oven for breakfast in the morning. PTM gave me a fabulous bran muffin recipe and they smell so good!!

More Blocks

I received Mary's block for Matt yesterday. She included a note for Matt! Thanks, Mary!

I have not spoken to Matt's mom but this is what Matt had to say on his Face book status:

Update:doing good waiting on eardrum repair and some follow up procedures before they release me to outpatient care, primarily done in MI over the next few months. I will have to fly down here a few times for orthopedic consults. Thanks for all the prayers, wishes, care, etc I'm doing just fine and I can't wait to have my boys home" I took these photos from his FB pages.
The one on the left is taken more recently and shows his funny side! The one on the right is when some of his buddies went to MD to visit him in the hospital. He has managed to keep his smile through it all.


Once again, I want to let everyone know how much I appreciate your making a block or 40 (PTM) and contributing to Matt's quilt. I am hoping to begin to put some of it together tonight! I don't have quite enough blocks to finish it but soon that will happen too!!

WHEW...What a day!

I had a crazy busy day today. As I said, I almost forgot to choose a winner! When I came home this is what I saw, my big boy, Mosen, looking out the window waiting for me to get home. I don't take many "artsy" photos but I like how this one came out.

The next thing I did was look at the mail and boy oh boy was it a good mail day! My friend, Kathy, had asked for my mailing address because she wanted to send me something. Now we met when our girls swam together at Michigan State. My DD swam her freshman year and hers swam all 4 years! I made her DD a quilt because she is such a good friend to my DD. So the package arrived today from her and this is what was inside!


Not just one jacket but 2. One for me and one for my DD. What a thoughtful person. Just the kind of pick me up I needed today.

But wait...there's more. I received some more blocks for Matt's quilt in the mail today.
From Sherrill, Laural and

Kathleen too. Thank you so much!!

Thanks, ladies!! Laural, if you are reading this, can you email me something to include with your blocks in the way of a note for Matt?

Oh and of course the day would not be complete without a weigh in at WW tonight before an hour of Pilates right? I lost another 1.2 pounds and broke a major milestone in weight loss for me!! I was afraid I was going to have gained but I didn't and I was so happy!!!

So I made dinner for myself, DH had salmon ready to go so made some rice and green beans, YUM. I did some laundry, cleaned up the kitchen and scrubbed the pots and pans, loaded the dishwasher and sat down to watch 24. Now I will finish this and head off to bed. It has been one long day!