PAQA President's Blog

I sit here thinking about my blog this month and decide to write about change. Is change good? Is change bad? Or is change just different? Growing up in upstate New York in the Adirondack Mountains I loved the change of seasons - the cool crisp fall nights, apple picking, the end of summer barbecues. Those are the simple changes we can experience year after year. Big changes were ahead of me though. My husband joined the USMC and our lives changed for the next 21 years! Was the change going to be good for our family? It was different, it was challenging, it was at times lonely, but along the way great memories were made, we have life-long friends and my love for quilting began! I had never used a sewing machine! I had no idea what a bobbin was. No one in my family quilted or even sewed. My Mom was lucky to be able to sew on a button and make a terrible hem! A crafty friend told me I needed to learn how to quilt! She convinced me to buy my first machine – a $99 Brother. She was t...

As I sit thinking about what to write to the Membership of PAQA, a few things come to mind. First, what a wonderful group this is. Thank you for the opportunity to lead such an amazing group! Second, I think about how getting involved has helped my circle of quilting friends grow and inspire me to do more! Quilters are a wonderfully giving, loyal group of friends who encourage each other, challenge each other and know how to have fun! Third, I think about our purpose – to educate quilters. It is a challenge to keep our hobby going. How can we as an organization share our goal to educate quilters and share this with younger generations? How can we inspire them to create quilts and keep this wonderful -- and addicting -- hobby alive for many years to come? How can we share the joy we feel when we create something new? When we touch a piece of fabric? When we discover a new designer? How can we explain the passion of having a stash of wonderful fabrics, a pile of UFO’s, multiple machine...

I recently spent an afternoon with a delightful 92 year-old lady from my church who invited me and two others to her home to see her quilts. It was so incredibly fun to watch as she did an actual bed turning, opened drawers and closets to show us oh-so-much, and had fascinating stories to tell about many of those quilts. She still does a little sewing every day, and she showed us patterns she still plans to get to. Then we sat at her kitchen table and had tea and delicious homemade almond cake served on her lovely wedding dishes. It was truly a marvelous afternoon. My friend did this not to boast or brag, but simply to share her love of quilts with others who have the same passion. I’m often a little hesitant to drag others around my house to see my piles of quilts, but when the guest is also a quilter it’s a little easier. Though we may not love the same style of quilts, or share the same color or fabric preferences, there’s just something about the common bond that quilters have. S...

Can you believe 2019 is half over? All you have to do is take one step outside to know it’s summertime in Phoenix and that means it’s HOT! Not exactly snuggle-under-a-quilt weather, but on the other hand it’s GREAT weather to stay inside and MAKE a quilt. Turn down the AC, turn on the ceiling fan, pour a tall glass of lemonade, turn on some music, and let your mind focus on making something awesome. Sounds perfect to me. And July is the time to celebrate our freedoms. Though one could argue that our country and its leaders seem to be in a bit of turmoil these days, we can still count our blessings here in America. We can happily celebrate the freedom to live where we want, worship where we choose, marry who we love, come and go as we please, take a walk and feel safe, buy just about anything we need (or want), etc. etc. I volunteer at a hospital once a week with a 19-year-old young lady who came here from Iraq a few years ago. She wears a hijab and long sleeves and long pants or sk...

The other day my husband filled his truck up with gas, and realized once he started pumping that there was $20 credit on the pump he was using. So he went to the office where the attendant just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess it’s your lucky day.” Now THAT’s never happened before. He fig ured somebody just goofed. But I told him that maybe it was a random act of kindness. You know, one of those “pay it forward” kind of things. After all, there ARE kind people in this world. And that incident made me think about all the kind things that quilters do. Every month we get to see an incredible array of quilts for AASK kids . . . children who must deal with family disruption and who wait for a stable “forever home”. Our own PAQA quilters spend hours and hours making beautiful quilts for these kids, and the kids have no idea who we are. Talk about random acts of kindness! We don’t see the smiles, or hear the “oooohs” and “aaaahs”, but that doesn’t really mat - ter. We ...

The other day my husband brought me a sock with a hole in it and asked me to darn it. My reaction? “I don’t darn socks! Throw it away and buy some new ones. It’s just a sock, for crying out loud.” But you gotta understand, my husband has a rep u t a t i o n f o r b e i n g a p e n n y p i n c h e r . S o m e w o u l d s a y “ t h r i f t y ” . O t h e r s w o u l d s a y “CHEAP”. My point is that some things just aren’t worth repairing or trying to salvage. Have you ever botched up a quilt or a quilt block so badly, you found yourself using your stitch ripper more than your sewing machine? And you kept thinking, “I’ll get this right yet!” I’ve been there. But I’ve also been to the point where I just quietly wad up my mess and throw it away. The guilt feelings I have last just a few minutes, and them I’m happily free to move forward and start over. Out of sight, out of mind. Let it go. Goofs happen. Move on. So give yourself permis...