Grandmama's Stories

Thursday, January 24, 2013

DARE ME TO DRESDEN..MONDAY ANNIVERSARY UPDATE

DARE ME...

Ok, I'm BLOWN away by all your super kind comments!! Whoo Hoo!! I didn't want to change my post too much since the Blog Hop is still going on and my Give-Away isn't till the 31st. So you still have a chance to leave a comment/become a follower to enter the Give-Away and I'll update the day's blogs to visit.
I'LL ANNOUNCE A WINNER FEB. 1ST

HOW WE MET
Would you Believe #1 Husband and I, Gmama, celebrated our 40th anniversary on Jan. 27th, Sunday?? Yep, we were but babes when we married and grew up together. I was 19, he was 20, both sophomores in college, in love, and couldn't wait for graduation so we found an apartment while helping our best friends hunt for an apartment. Jeanie and Allen had just gotten married 2 weeks prior and our planned wedding date of May 10th, 1975 seemed eons away.

AAAH, the ignorance of youth. In a matter of 24 hrs. we decided to get married and take the little apartment right above our best friends. I think back now and wonder why our parents didn't just kill us right on the spot. But they didn't, and on January 27th,1973, Jane Ellen Shrewsbury married Roger Holman Hillis on a snowy West Virginia afternoon at the Campus Christian Center on the campus of Marshall University. The wedding was planned and put together on a budget of $300 with the help of all the girls on the 6th floor of Twin Towers. I was going to wear a suit to save money but my parents wanted me to at least have a wedding dress. I went home the week-end before our wedding(4 hrs. away) and my mother took me shopping for a wedding dress....Cost?? $68!! Size 8 and LOTS of lace!!

All this transpired from July, 1971 when during freshmen orientation at Marshall University, Huntington WV, a group of silly teen-age girls right out of High School, were sitting around in the girls' dorm lounge when this good-looking, 6'4", sandy haired young man ,with a killer southern accent and muscles of an obvious athlete came up to us and asked to borrow a dime to call his girlfriend back in Alabama. Every girl there that day nearly killed herself to be the first one to find a dime to give to this really really cute boy (the term Hottie had not been invented)....I WON!!! Psst...I made it my mission to make that young man forget all about that Alabama girlfriend...

Fast Forward, 42 yrs, 3 children, and 5 grandchildren later, that sandy haired boy football player with the killer southern drawl is still married to that 18 yr. old WV girl who loaned him a dime. Guess what?...He forgot ALL about that Alabama girlfriend by October of that 71-72 school year.

Here's to 40 Happy Ever After Years

To Be Continued..........

TEA TIME

TEA TIME WALL HANGING

Tea Time is embroidered but it needs to be darker.

This is the top to my new chair cushion.
The ruffle will be sewn from the center polka dot.

GIVE AWAY

TEA TIME WALL HANGING (NEEDS BINDING)
TIES THAT BIND, BY MARIE BOSTWICK
DRESDEN PLATE QUILT STENCIL
(Plus some quilting surprises I like to put in my packages)

1. LEAVE A COMMENT &TELL ME YOU'RE A FOLLOWER
2. WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN JAN. 31ST

BIG HUGS AND THANK YOU TO MADAME SAMM, CHEERLEADER SPONSOR
AND CHRISTINE, HEAD CHEERLEADER

Please Hop On Over to see More:

January 28^th, 2013

A Reformed Heath'n

Meadowbrook

Rosemary B @ “that Other Blog”

Stitch Duchess' Crazy & Sane Quilting World

Blooming Where I am Planted

Quilting Lodge

The Tilted Quilt

Life in the Scrapatch

Pretty Bobbins
In The Boon Docks

Sew Much and More

Threading My Way
Pink Ribbon Quilts

Thimble Mouse & Spouse

BLESSINGS

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

DARE TO DRESDEN BLOG HOP SCHEDULE

I'VE TAKEN THE DARE

JANUARY 25TH, 2013

I've pulled out almost my whole fabric stash to make Dresden Plate Pillow Tops! Dresden Plate is a very versatile quilt pattern and allows me to do something I call "Coloring With Fabric". Remember getting a new Crayola Crayon Box with all those cool names for colors? OOH, I was in crayon heaven. Well, I'm all grown up and quilting is like opening up my crayon box, picking colors for a brand new page in my new coloring book, except it's a new quilt pattern and the colors come from my fabrics.

So come by on Friday to see what I *COLORED*.

Blessings

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE:

January 24^th, 2013

Thimble Mouse & Spouse

Debby Kratovil Quilts

Apple Avenue Quilts

The TreeHouse

Sew Mollie Sue, Quilt Much

Quilts My Way

Buzzing and Bumbling

Marjorie's Busy Corner

The Raspberry Rabbits

I Like to Quilt Blog

Cherry's Prairie Primitives

Spoilt Dog Quilts

January 25^th, 2013

Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio

Jane's Fabrics & Quilts

Tea Time Creations

Mo Broker My Creative Side

Jane's Quilting
My Patchwork Life
2muchfun

Pumpkin Patch Quilter
Quilt Monster in my Closet

Sunday, January 20, 2013

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP

Angel Baby Gown, cap, blanket, pillow

*Angel Baby* Gown from the back

NILMDTS provides the Gift of Remembrance photography for parents suffering the loss of a baby with a FREE gift of professional photography. My Daughter is a Local Area Coordinator and Photographer for our area Hospitals. Her involvement began in some part while my grandson James was in the NICU for almost the entire month of October. James was born on Oct. 7th, 2007 and came home Oct. 31st...Halloween! She became close to the NICU nurses and saw the ongoing need for NILMDTS services of which she had only an abbreviated knowledge of at the time.

James in NICU...4 lbs.

Flash forward 5 yrs and Mary Ellen is now Area NILMDTS Coordinator. In photographing these *Angel Babies* she has the need for clothing that is appropriate and yet easy to get on and off and won't damage the Angel Baby's delicate skin.

In memory of a lost grandchild, one Grandmother hand sews "Angel Baby Layettes" for the Photographers to use. She said finding clothes for stillborn child was most definitely NOT prepared to dress her baby for a funeral. Thus, making *angel baby* gowns became this grandmother's way of paying homage to her grandson.

I became involved out of sheer need. One person can not make the amount of gowns/layettes, needed for a large hospital such as our local hospital. Huntsville Hospital provides the regional neo-natal unit for the entire North Alabama region. Thus, yours truly had to teach herself how to make *Angel Baby* gowns. I wanted to share my latest Labor of Love...and it truly is a labor of love. Just knowing I am a part of helping grieving parents & grandparents is such a comfort to me.

As you preview my *Angel Baby* gowns, I hope you will go to the NILMDTS website and see if services are provided in YOUR area. Perhaps you will feel led to volunteer or to check with your local Hospital to see what the clothing needs are for NICU babies and NILMDTS babies IF services are provided.

micro preemie layette

This gown is made from a pillowcase!

The little caps are made from a simple rectangle.
I also used my decorative stitiches and vintage buttons from "Mama's Button Box"

A sweet little vintage button

Gowns must be open in the back and either tie, button, or velcro together. I enjoyed adding the decorative touches such as lace hem tape to cover edges; knowing grieving parents will take this gown home in remembrance of their son.

Little Girl *Angel Baby*

I got to use my new embroidery machine for this!

This sewing is a true labor of love for me. Perhaps, you can fulfill a need such as this in your own community. You can go to the website, type in your zip code, and names of the nearest photographers will appear as well as the Hospitals they serve. BTW, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep services are worldwide.

Blessings

James's feet

Monday, January 14, 2013

Day 6 of IN YOUR WORDS

Monday, January 14

Gracie Oliver Arts

Clothes and Crafts

Cherrys Prairie Primitives

Simple Sew

Woolie Mammoth

RocknQuilts

Celynn's Sunflower Patch

A Quilting Sheep

Sane and Crazy Quilting

Quiltsmiles

Feathered Nest Studio

Only TWO more days of IN YOUR WORDS. PLease visit all these lovely Ladies.

Come Back for some sneak peeks at my projects for 2013.

Plus, I've got some great STORIES to share this coming year. My daughters have asked me to "tell" more of our stories especially the ones about their Grandmother who passed away in 2003. She is the star of the TACO BELL STORY..if you haven't read it go back and enjoy a chuckle.

Blessings

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The Greatest Man I Ever Knew

IN MEMORY

JUDSON CARL TATE

1919-2013

One of the Greatest men I ever knew besides my Uncle Lacy., was CARL TATE...Mr. Carl to me.

Here in the south, when we know & love someone at least a generation older we feel a bit uncomfortable calling that person by just their first name. Saying Mr. or Mrs Last Name of choice seems too formal so we've come up with a uniquely southern tradition of saying Mr. Carl or Ms. (pronounced MISS whether married or not)Evelyn. If we attend church together, we will say Bro. (Brother) Carl.

When I moved from West Virginia, this custom took be by surprise and it took some time getting used to it. However, over time the terms became familiar and I realized I was truly "southernized." In fact, I'm so used to the terminology, I am confused at the quizzical looks I get when I go back north!!

Back in 1977, Mr. Carl and Ms. Evelyn saw a lonely homesick young mother of 24 ....this young woman moved 600 miles away from home to a state where everything looked different, spoke differently, ate differently, thought differently, and acted differently. To say I suffered culture shock would be the understatement of the last century. But, Carl Tate, put his long arms around this homesick young woman and told her HE was going to be her Alabama Daddy. Mr. Carl was faithful to his promise and I grew to love him like a father.

Apr. 3, 1919 - Jan. 7, 2013
Judson Carl Tate
Judson Carl Tate, 93, of Huntsville, passed away peacefully on Jan. 7, 2013. He is survived by his devoted and loving wife Evelyn of 68 years; his son, Ray and daughter Jan and husband Herbert Harvill. He loved and adored his grandchildren, Russ (Virginia), Will and Carrie, Tate and Elizabeth; and great-grandchildren, Whitney, Reid and Grissom; his brother, Homer and wife Jeanette; two sisters, Mildred Phillips and Katie Brown; and a host of nieces and nephews, cousins and many great friends. He proudly served his country in World War II as a tailgunner on a B-24 Liberator, flying on 51 missions over Europe. His name is in the Madison County Hall of Heroes and he is also a member of the Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame as recognized for his basketball skills. He most enjoyed singing about his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He contined to sing until the end of his earthly life.
Visitation will be Wednesday, January 9th from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Flint River Baptist Church. A celebration of his life will be held at the church on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. with Dr. Sammy Gilbreath and Dr. Steve Bell officiating. Burial will follow at Flint River Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Flint River Baptist Church Music Department. Berryhill Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Mr. Carl lived his faith, walked it, talked it, and sang it! He was the music director at Flint River Baptist Church for 50 yrs. I don't think I ever heard him sing without a tear rolling down those sun weathered cheeks simply because the words to those great Old Hymns of old were a living, breathing promise from God to him personally. I saw in Mr. Carl what it meant to "Abide in Jesus"

He knew how to live life to the fullest from the humblest of beginnings as the son of southern sharecroppers, to one of the premier Basketball players in the State, to a tail-gunner in WWII. He often shared his stories, jokes, daily observations which made you either laugh, cry, or be inspired.

Carl Tate was and IS my Hero. He is singing "I Sing Because..." with the angels and "He Touched Me" with his earthly Father, Mr. Will Tate.

I will miss you for awhile but will see you soon because you showed me how to live as Christ.

GOD SPEED, Mr. Carl

I Love You

Your West Virginia Adopted Daughter

Jane Ellen

Monday, January 7, 2013

IN YOUR WORDS...JEREMIAH 29:11

IN YOUR WORDS

LINK here to see the SCHEDULE at Linda's

Today is MY DAY

Thank you

Cheerleader Linda for superior "Cheers and Organization"

Madame Samm for "Sharing Your Vision"

GOD'S WORDS

are

INERRANT, INSPIRED, APPLICABLE, LIVING, COMFORTING, A TWO-EDGED SWORD

I embroidered Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) on 2 Quilts.

(I lost my new camera so these pics are taken with a borrowed camera...please forgive

Hugs for Kim

This quilt was made as a comfort quilt for my Niece Kim recently diagnosed in 2012

with Uterine Cancer. I still have to quilt and bind ASAP.

Quilt #1

The entire scripture is hand embroidered in the outer sashing

String Quilt/Rail Fence

My Signature

QUILT #2

Made for #1 Husband's childhood friend who was ordained as a

Lutheran Minister in August 2012.

at age 60!

The quilt pattern is the traditional "coin" quilt.

I can't remember the fabric line

PLEASE JOIN ME IN *HOPPING* OVER TO ALL THESE CREATIVE LADIES.

LET'S GO SEE WHAT *WORDS* HAVE INSPIRED THEM!

Tuesday, January 8

Piece Peace (Patricia G.)

A Stitch in Time (Patty D.)

krislovesfabric (Kris T.)

Marjorie's Busy Corner (Marjorie)

Grandmamas Stories (Jane H.) (me! Gmama Jane)

Mrs. Pickles Garden (Hayley)

Patchouli moon Studio (Daryl P.)

Till We Quilt Again (Helen E.)

The Slow Quilter (Felicia F.)

Quilting With Terry and the Cats (Terry S.)

Sunday, January 6, 2013

IN YOUR WORDS BLOG HOP...IN MY WORDS ON TUESDAY

New Blog Hop!!

This one is what I call a Free-Wheeling Quilting Mania
Everyone gets to do their OWN THANG
with WORDS! No directions, no guidelines,
just Use Your OWN WORDS
I'm Tuesday, Jan. 8th

Here is the Schedule Beginning Monday:

Here is the full schedule for the In Your Words Blog Hop! Be sure to visit each one and leave your comments. There will be prizes as well as a lot of inspiration! I also notice as I scroll through the names, I've become friends with a large majority of these ladies due to the various blog hops and/or through my personal blog. I LOVE MY BLOG FRIENDS AND I LOVE BLOGGING...Nope, don't intend to stop anytime soon! So, Leave sincere comments and get to know these ladies. You won't be disappointed, I Promise!!

Monday, January 7

Stitch, Stitch, Stitch, Stitch (Cyndi H.)

Kwilty Pleasures (Kathy G.)

Debby Kratovil Quilts (Debby K.))

Sew Darn Quilt (Carolyn R.)

Mary On Lake Pulaski (Mary K.)

Traveling Quilter (Debbie A.)

Just Let Me Quilt (Carol S.)

Vroomans Quilts (Sharon V.)

Cate's Linens (Catherine R.)

Nini and the Sea (Denise)

Sew Much 2 Luv (Karen)