What a Mood!

I'm suddenly and mysteriously in a mood to do some machine quilting! This mood does not come along very often, so I need to jump while the iron is hot!

I even found some batting on sale, 40% off. So the stars are all aligned.

So far, in this recent mood, I have completed only two baby quilts (and I have a third basted and ready to go, just need to get at it). Here they are...

This one has been blogged about before, but now it is totally done. It is headed to Rosebud Reservation, Tree of Life, for their layette kits. In fact, I used their own fabric. I brought this backing fabric home from Tree of Life three years ago, with the intent of using it in quilts and sending the quilts back pronto. Well, it isn't very pronto, but I have made two quilts using this fabric, so I finally accomplished that goal, at least.

This next one is my round robin quilt made at the Sunshine group... I made the center piece and then it was sent around to three other people for their additions. When it came back to me, I decided to add one more narrow border, just to make the quilt a tad larger. It is now 40" square, all quilted, and it will be going to Wrap Them in Love, for the same reason as above: I found a big box of fabric that Wrap Them in Love sent me three years ago! So I'm using their fabric for backings; I think that means the quilts need to go back to them, don't you agree?

I'm linking this post up with Quilting for Good and counting these toward the 100 Quilts for Kids.

Happiness

pretty flowers in my friend's garden - she has a green thumb!

Thank you for your comments about my recent sad/stupid/naive post. I'm feeling fine now. Sometimes I get kind of down about various things: politics will do it to me in a hurry, so I try to avoid it. But it's hard to avoid it during an election year, and I do like to try to keep up with what's going on in the world, so I end up listening to news, watching news, reading news... and then I get depressed again.

As one of my readers says, it's my choice as to how much I let that stuff affect me. I need to not give it so much power. And FACEBOOK?? What a dumb place to expect normal interactions. Nope, I am not going to give Facebook that power any more.

We have had a few days in a row of gorgeous weather. I sat outside Friday evening, reading, and it was BEAUTIFUL. We ordered a pizza, it came right to me in my reading chair, and I stayed outside to eat it. Hubby joined me. Very lovely, peaceful evening.

Today at church the team who went to Rosebud Reservation gave their report. It was very uplifting. I felt very happy that it had gone so well, and I hope I will be back with them next year. I have missed two years in a row of our Rosebud trips. Time to get back on that team.

I have a few work shifts to look forward to this week, and then it will be Hubby's birthday.. a Big One this year! Party coming up soon!! That will bring more happiness. Hooray!

Quilts on the Move

I feel so accomplished, because I finally have some completed and nearly-completed quilts in my arsenal. Last Sunday afternoon I went to church to use the large tables for basting, and I managed to get a lot done.

This quilt will be sent to Utah for a family whose house burned down in those terrible wildfires. It is kid-friendly, so I hope whoever gets it has some kids in the family. I added the dark borders to make it bigger. It can pretend it's a bed quilt at this size, though it's still on the small size -- but at least it'll cover up a whole person.

I love this fabric that I used for the binding! It makes such a colorful and cheerful binding! I used it on both these quilts.

I also finished this baby size quilt, finally. I think I mentioned it before... I started it two years ago. I could have finished the whole quilt in an afternoon, but here it is, two years later. At least it's done! I plan to send this one to Rosebud Reservation for their layette collections that they give to newborns.

Very soon I hope to show you photos of my other almost-complete quilts -- not 'til they're totally complete, though. I plan to spend the 4th of July sewing, taking naps, and eating root beer floats!

P.S. Julie, the quilt collector for the fire victims, has made some changes and needs LOTS more quilts, so keep on sewing. Read her blog here.

Some Miscellaneous Finishes

a doll blanket made from scraps; I had a lot of fun with this

a knitting project for our fall church bazaar; made from donated yarn

made by someone else, quilted by someone else, and bound by me; it's a guild project for Bundles of Love

blocks I'm working on with Bumble Beans 15 Minutes of Play; technically not a finish, but it's progress to show

a little baby blankie for Rosebud, backed in soft flannel

Thoughts From My Heart

I once had a "boyfriend" for about 3 days. I am a white American girl of Scottish, Irish, English descent. He is/was a Native American, Anishinabe tribe (not sure I spelled that correctly). I met him on a church trip, going across country via bus to a Big City. I stole him from another girl. All my life I was always intrigued by the history and culture and languages and current lives of American Indians. That's why I stole him. (Give me a break-- I was a dorky teenager.)

When I got to college, I majored in French. Then, when I finally had time during my senior year to "play," I took as many anthropology courses as I could. Most of them were on the history and culture of Plains Indians. I absolutely loved those courses and wished I had discovered anthropology long before the end of my senior year.

Oh, well.. my life has turned out fine despite my silly major which never led me anywhere, except indirectly.

Turns out I married a partially Native guy, though he doesn't identify culturally with his heritage. My husband's grandmother was a Tlingit Indian from S.E. Alaska. The story I always heard is that she grew up in a Catholic orphanage. At one point it had burned down, so any records of her life and lineage went up in smoke!

Just in the last few years I discovered that she was not an orphan... she used to go home to visit her mother. So I surmised that she was of the generation of children who were taken/sent to boarding schools where they were taught to "be white." (Most children were either forced to go, or their parents realized they had no choice, so they sent the kids to these schools, far far from home.) Hubby's grandmother died when my husband was a kid, so there is no way I could ever have met her. But in retrospect she fascinates me, makes me a little sad, and I'm proud of her all at once.

She married an Irish miner and moved to Minnesota and raised a huge family here. They all knew about her heritage, but I don't think much of the culture was passed on, unfortunately.

summer school at Rosebud - adorable!

I have always tried to learn (mostly through reading) about Indian cultures. It's an interest of mine, but I am far from an expert. Please remember that I am speaking as a non-native person, as I see things from my white-girl life experience.

Anyway, in 2008 my church started sending small groups to Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota to help with the relief work that is done there through a group called Tree of Life. Tree of Life is doing excellent work, and it is always a very meaningful experience to volunteer there. This year's trip is the 5th annual trip!

The people on the Rosebud Reservation are Dakota people. You may know them as the Sioux, but that's not their real name. There are three groups of "Sioux" -- Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota. I'm not an expert on this at all, but I do know some of the history.. in my partial knowledge and with apologies for my ignorance, I'll just generically use the term Dakota. The Dakota people inhabited Minnesota in the old days. And, as every other tribe experienced, they also were pushed away by force and by tricks. At the end, there was a war... the Dakota people rose up in their last, desperate attempts to save their homes and culture. (Again, just about every tribe has a similar event.) After that war the Dakota people were forcibly removed from Minnesota, and our governor declared that henceforth Minnesota shall be free of all "Sioux" people.

In our work at Rosebud (and one year at Crow Creek) we have worked with descendants of those people who were kicked out of Minnesota. Humbling. Ironic. Sad. Nice.. to be able to form friendly alliances after all of that sad history.

What I see around me is the need for much more work. For some reason, Indians are still "the hated minority." No one would ever say that out loud, but from our behavior, that is the conclusion to draw. It's obvious.

Just try being a person who goes on these trips to Rosebud, and picture yourself talking about it to any old shmo on the street. Go into a bar, for example. Sit down and start talking about Indians to whoever is there. Guess what. It probably won't be a complimentary, favorable discussion. One has to tread lightly when deciding with whom to share the meaningful experiences of such a trip, and the hopes one has for further bridging of the enormous chasm that still exists between our people.

Here in Minnesota, just about every year, I hear grumbling and fussing about Indians who have fishing rights promised to them in a long-ago treaty.. giving them spearing rights and fishing rights at times outside of the Minnesota fishing season. Emotions can really get riled up over this. It always makes the news, and the coverage makes me cringe.

Then, try to talk about casinos. Expect to hear more grumblings and stories about Indians who have become rich off casino profits but "don't know how to deal with their money"! There's going to be more negative talk, I can just about guarantee it. For some reason, we will never let Indians succeed. That started way back. When white people first came here, we told Indians to learn English, learn to farm, learn our ways, and you'll be just fine. Many of them did just that, only to be lied to and forcibly removed, education and accomplishments be damned. That is STILL the attitude that one can find in our society -- easily. As I said, just start a conversation with any old shmo on the street. You'll find it.

Why is that? It seems it has never become politically incorrect to speak disrespectfully of Indians. It's still a group that it's "OK to hate." That really bothers and puzzles me.

To all of this, I know there are exceptions, but overall, this is the sense one gets in our white-dominated culture.

Now let me talk a bit about the work we do when we go to Rosebud. Believe me, almost every volunteer will question the work they are doing. Step back and look at the big picture: we come to a country which to us is new, but there are people who have lived here for thousands of years. To them, we are outsiders. Yet we decide it all should be ours, and we kill them, starve them, make them march thousands of miles through the snow, and force them onto reservations. Time passes, and most of us become rich. Then, out of the goodness of our hearts, we go to the reservation one week out of the year and help them paint their decrepit house. Oh, how heart-warming it is for us!



See? It's a struggle. And that issue is definitely present, in varying degrees, when we are working at Rosebud. One reason we love going there is because Tree of Life, the agency through which we work, has faced those issues head-on. They don't try to hide from the big questions. Instead, they have learned and grown and adapted to the needs of the people they serve, all the while learning about the culture and respecting it. The work is making a difference! We who have gone on the trips have seen progress with our own eyes! We can see and feel hope and friendly ties being forged, and can see the difference from year to year. It is palpable. It truly is heart-warming!

Well.. these are the thoughts from my heart. And it has been brought fresh to the forefront of my mind by watching a series on Netflix: "American Experience: We Shall Remain," a 5-part series on American history as seen from Native eyes. It is fascinating, heart-breaking, and very well done. I have watched the first 3 episodes and will probably finsih the last 2 in the next couple of days.

If you have stuck by me and read this whole post, I ask you: if you live in the USA, have you seen or felt the attitudes I talk about? Have you heard people grumbling or making sick jokes about Indians and casinos? Indians and alcholism? Do you agree that our over-all attitude here in America (in the white-dominated society) is still anti-Indian? Have you ever tried to speak up in defense of Indian people, tried to confront those attitudes? Tried to learn for yourself what modern day life is like for Indians? For many people, Indians are easy to ignore.

So.. I challenge you to learn something. Maybe start by watching this 5-part series of "American Experience: We Shall Remain." It's easily found at Netflix streaming. If you'd rather read a book, here's a great one: Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn (a Minnesota author). Fabulous, fabulous book that hopefully will open up a part of your heart and mind that you didn't know was closed. If you do either of these things, I want to hear about it and your thoughts!! We can help each other learn.

a cultural lesson at Rosebud

This Guy Loves My Quilts

There is one guy in my life who LOVES my quilts. He can barely take a nap without using one of my quilts. He hangs around while I'm making them and adds his opinions, which usually don't make any sense, so I just ignore him. He has a quilt of his own, which he loves, but he seems to love all the others that I use, too. If I take a nap using one of my quilts, he has to come around and hang out with me. He is my biggest fan, and I'm happy to have at least one huge fan who loves all my quilts, ugly or not. Here is my biggest fan, sleeping sweetly on one of my quilts:

Isn't he sweet? Especially while sleeping. On a quilt. Not annoying or biting me. I wish my hubby would be half the fan that the cat is, but I'm just thankful to have one avid fan.

Look at this great fabric! Giraffes! I'm tempted just to hang it on the wall, without even cutting into it. I'll have to see if inspiration hits.

I made another small quiltie for Rosbud Reservation. I finished the previous six, which I showed you before (two of them are below, all done). The box they're in could fit one more, so here it is. I'll send these 7 quilties to Rosebud this week.

End of Year Activity

Today is New Year's Eve. I spent most of the day doing what is fun: sewing. But I also spent a little time trying to clean up my pile of clean-but-still-in-piles laundry. It's crazy that I don't just put stuff away. It would help my life be so much better organized. I'm going to work on that (being better organized) in 2012.

My sewing for the day started out with some sewing room organizing. (Getting this stashy-mess under control is another of my organizing goals for 2012.) I have been sewing from scraps for.ev.er!! It feels like I've made zero progress. So I offered some scraps to people on one of my online groups. I just want to get most of them out of my house!

Then as I tried organizing my fabrics and pieces that I am keeping, I realized I should attack my piles of Leftover Blocks. I have some of my own, and some were given to me by Sally. I like playing with leftovers, but it's another area where I can start to feel overwhelmed. So I started sewing like crazy. I put together these six small quilts.






















These quilts are made for a sad reason, but it's something I can do that hopefully is helpful to some grieving parents. I donate these to Rosebud Reservation where, sad to say, they experience a high infant mortality rate. (Indian Health care in general is sorely lacking and minimal, at best.) At the time of burial, babies are wrapped in these little quilts, and they ask that a star be on each one, in the middle - either a pieced or an applied star or stars in the fabric. Some of my stars are huge, and some are tiny. The red/black quiltie has stars in its fabric.

These are the six I have halfway finished. Only one is completely done. All I do is back them with soft flannel, but I ran out of flannel, so that'll come this next week when I get a chance to go shopping.

As I look back at 2011 there are some not-so-great events such as Charles getting laid off and Son getting a divorce. Son tells me that he is happy and that staying married would have been worse than divorcing. So I try to be comforted in his happiness. I grieved deeply over the dissolution of the marriage, but I am doing better now. Charles is working at a contract position and hoping it will become permanent, but for now it's very unsure. We have our fingers crossed.

The good parts of 2012 include my mom turning 90. We had a great party, and she is still relatively healthy and spunky. I found a fabulous part-time job that perfectly suits my needs, and the extra income is very helpful. I started a fun crafting group at church which I am really enjoying (we mostly knit prayer shawls and other things such as hats and baby booties). I read 53 books! (I reported 52 in my last blog post, but finished another one since that was written.) In 2012 I intend to tackle the piles of books I have at home and in my Kindle. I have enough for 2-3 years of busy reading! I have started a travel fund and hope that Charles and I can make it to Europe or Panama one of these years. (Maybe both!)

Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope you continue visiting in 2012!

I Miss You, Rosebud!

Every summer since 2008 I have participated with our church on a mission trip to Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. This year's team left this morning, and I am not with them. I am so disappointed that I could not go along this year! It is a life-changing experience. This year I could really use some of the soothing and warming experiences that one receives there.

We call it a mission trip, and it is a lot of work for those who go, and they are hoping to accomplish some cultural bridge-building through the friendship and work that is done by our team.... however I have always felt on these trips that I receive more than I give. This year, were I to go along, I would definitely participate in the sweat lodge experience, and I know what I would pray for while in the sweat. A sweat, run by a Lakota Medicine Man, is a very moving and unique experience. I still feel moved by the memories of the one in which I participated in 2008. I hope I can go to Rosebud again next year.

Here is what my church friends are on their way to as I write -- these and a whole host of other new experiences, as each trip is unique and has special events that touch one's life. I am praying for our team and also that this year's trip will be just as meaningful and fun as ever:

the long, long drive to Rosebud in Mission, South Dakota.. can't remember how long, but I'd say 8 to 10 hours from here to there.

Russell, the director of Tree of Life Agency who directs our work.. giving some cultural and historical information, as well as guidance on the goals of our work/interactions with the people of Rosebud. He does a fabulous job!

sometimes we're lucky and get to hold babies

one year we got to tutor in a summer school program... I just loved these kids!

the Warm Welcome kitchen is a fun place in which to volunteer - for some good chances to meet and greet the local folks

... or working in the thrift shop is fun; one gets a good idea of what is needed and useful to donate for the local residents. This year our church sent along tons of diapers.


going out to work on someone's home is another good way to meet local residents and to do hands-on helpful work

a fun extra for the volunteers is opportunities to learn about native culture.. here he was explaining about how mocassins are made

Mitakuye oyasin!

Rosebud Reveries

My third mission trip to an Indian reservation was my best so far. I hesitate to even call these "mission trips" because it implies something that I don't intend. I always feel that I gain so much more than I give. I returned from this recent trip on Friday night.

Here's my story: six of us from my church traveled to Rosebud Reservation in southern South Dakota. It was my second time there, the first for about half our team. I was so happy to be back. Each time I go there, I fall in love!


The volunteers are organized through Tree of Life which is a relief agency sponsored by the United Methodist Church. They have done a fabulous job there, and we who were second-timers could see positive changes since we visited two years ago.

The Tree of Life directors, Russell and Donna Masartis, have worked hard to respect the Lakota culture and to work in cooperation with the local Tribal Councils, doing work that is requested and doing the work in a respectful way. The work has paid off and has resulted in increased trust between the Lakota people and white people/the church. This is exactly the kind of work I want to be involved with.. respectful and cooperative. It was an uplifting experience.

When we arrived Sunday night we had orientation. There were three or four other groups from around the country also in attendance: all were United Methodists which is not always the case. The work there is ecumenically supported. Groups were from Ohio, Kansas, Indiana, and Minnesota. We were impressed with all the groups, including the youth in attendance who were high energy and also polite, well-behaved, and hard-working. I didn't hear one single complaint!

Monday I volunteered in the Warm Welcome food service area. They serve breakfast and lunch four days a week to anyone who comes in the door. They serve over 100 meals per day. I like working there because of the one-on-one contact the volunteers engage in with the local residents. It's a wonderful experience. It can be a very busy place, and the volunteer can be kept quite busy (translation: tired out), but it is so worth it. I got to talk to a few people and to hold a cute little baby!

The night before we left, I stayed up late making this little wall-hanging for the Warm Welcome area. They loved it, which made me happy.




Every night we had cultural events. Monday's was Hand Games. I didn't know about hand games before, and didn't know how popular they are among native people across the country. They have national tournaments (which our local teachers had won in 2009)! By playing these games we forged friendships with some of the other volunteers. It was totally fun, silly, and light-hearted.

Tuesday I was lucky to help tutor in an elementary school summer program. What a blast! The kids were adorable and loved our extra attention. Here are some pictures of our work and our fun.






Tuesday night was a sweat lodge which I had planned to attend, and then decided not to. I attended a sweat lodge two years ago and was not able to complete the whole process. I'm a fair-skinned, wimpy white lady and found the heat pretty hard to take. So I begged off this year. I'm sort of sorry I did and wished I had gone. Next time I will!

Wednesday was our day off.. another fabulous day. Amy and I decided to go to Valentine, Nebraska (35 miles away) to visit a couple of nature spots. One was this wonderful waterfall.. Smith Falls, the highest waterfall in Nebraska. We stood under it and screamed from the cold, but oh, did it feel good on a day that hit 98 degrees F!






Thursday I worked in the sewing room. Part of the Thrift Shop work includes distributing layette kits to families of newborns. While I was there, a young man came in with his 5-day-old son. Both were so cute: proud daddy and his adorable baby. He was given a layette, but with some pieces missing. So my mission on Thursday was to complete at least one quilt to be added to a layette kit. I took along nine-patches that I had made at home, then found other fabrics in the sewing room and finished the quilt. There was no proper quilt batting, so I used a polyester knit piece that was fairly light weight and had a soft drape to it. It actually made a rather nice-feeling quilt!

I also started a second quilt, which I will finish at home and send to them as soon as I have that and a few more to fill a box.



will finish this at home

Some of our team on Thursday helped unpack and re-bundle 10,000 lbs of frozen corn-on-the-cob! Now there was a physically taxing job! They seemed to enjoy it, though, and at the end of the day felt very pleased with how much they had accomplished.




Thursday evening was full of activities: an art fair where we purchased beaded work and other art work done by local native artists; a dinner of Indian tacos (yum, yum, yum); a presentation by a local flutist/story teller. He was so funny and under-stated yet profound. He brought several of us nearly to tears with his beautiful stories and music.



sticks used in hand games; these tips are carved from deer antlers




Friday was another work day, but we had to depart early because of 4th of July commitments some of our team had... it was both good and bad to leave a tad early. We were all tired from our hard work, and happy to get back home to our own beds.

Already I am thinking about next year. I can hardly wait to go back. This year's experience was uplifting because of the spirit of change that I sensed on the reservation. The work being done by Tree of Life is helping make positive changes. The native people are working hard to bring about change. The problems still exist, the poverty is deep, the challenges can seem overwhelming -- but the positive energy and hope are palpable. I am thrilled.

The things they really need that anyone reading this could donate, if interested, are the following:
* diapers of all sizes
* baby clothes, used if in good condition, and new
* shoes - all sizes - walking/running shoes, not fancy work-style shoes (very few people have jobs, and job opportunities are scarce.. they need comfortable, every day shoes, used if in good condition, and new)
* books - I saw many families checking the book shelves for new arrivals, and there were very few, I'm sad to say
* teen boy clothes
If any of my readers feel moved to send donations to Rosebud, here is the address. If you send any of the above items, they will be GREATLY APPRECIATED and will be put to use immediately.

Tree of Life
Attention: Donna M/Thrift Shop
PO Box 149
Mission, SD 57555