Phone Tree - Project Quilt Challenge

My Phone Tree quilt. 

about 24x24, I LOVE my wall hanging quilt.

 

I'm quilting from Manitowoc, WI. 

 

The tree trunk is actually a telephone pole, and the leafy portion is an awesome vintage phone print I found at a thrift store last year.

 

This is a challenge quilt for Persimon Dreams: Project Quilting.

 

Just a fun online quilt challenge I found.

 

I've been wanting to make a tree quilt for a while now (check out my Quilts - Trees pinterest board), so I was crankin'* excited about the challenge. 

(* crankin' - adverb. equivalent to very, or extremely...but more interesting than just plain old very)

 

I started out wanting to make a large throw size quilt...which quickly changed to lap size...which quickly changed to wall hanging.  I had a hard time deciding what to do with the background...I knew what I wanted to do with the phone fabric and telephone pole, but the background didn't get decided until Thursday night!

 

 

close up of my thread sketching style around the tree clumps.

 

Staying up til midnight on Friday and Saturday night was the only way to make it happen.  again, it was hard to figure out how to make the tree shape look like a tree and not just a cloud-like shape floating behind my telephone pole.  Pinterest to the rescue!  I looked up some abstract tree shapes, and found a variety of ways to streamline the tree.  I finished pulling the threads through this morning, then time for church, then had a frantic time posting the pic to the site...with 5 minutes to spare!

 

 I wish the pole had a little more distinction, but I do like it. 

 

I may add some hot pink telephone lines at a later time. 

a bit of an update might be nice

Sooooooo...we meet again.

I'm not sure what it is about me/my personality, but the longer I go between posts, the harder it is to get back at it.  Something about already being late...I'm not even sure, but, for the moment, I'm back....again.

For those who may not know, Wayne is now...Pastor Wayne.  He became the full time senior pastor at our church in July.  It was such a long journey, in a good way, to get here, and he is pretty darn excited about it all.  And pretty darn exhausted as well.  :)  As many of you fellow ministry friends know, ministry is HARD.  Don't get me wrong (I know some church friends read this, so I don't want to give the wrong impression here), this is definitely where God has called Wayne and us.  It's been amazing for me to watch Wayne grow and mature this past year+ as he has first functioned as the interim pastor and then be hired as THE pastor.  I'm falling in love all over again with this man. 

There has been a lot of growing this past summer, and a lot of "hmm, still need to work on that" for myself.  Glancing back at my previous post, I'm still not sure where Real-Naomi-ton is, but I feel like I am making small strides out of Should-be-ville. 


A big step I took this summer was finally working through our miscarriage from 2008.  I met with a local counselor (a lot) and I think I finally let myself feel.  I'm not big on facing problems head on...I'm more of a ignore it and hope it will go away person.  I was very much stuck in the depression phase of the grieving process. 

I had started a baby clothes memory quilt last November.  I had baby clothes still from each of the kid's first year.  I know many people who make baby clothes quilts for the kid, but I know I wouldn't care too much about what baby clothes I wore, (and probably my kids wouldn't either) but I definitely cared about the clothes MY kids wore.  So, each kiddo got a quarter of the quilt, even Corey (the baby we miscarried).  I'll get a close up picture some other time, but this is the whole thing.  It's big!  Wayne and my dad are holding it while standing on steps.  And the backing is their baby receiving blankets, so lots of soft, floppy flannel. 

I finished it just in time for a little memorial service we had for Corey.  It was just Wayne and I, the kids, my parents and his parents.  And the counselor who is also a licensed pastor.  I talked about Corey, the bible verses that spoke to me during the days after losing her, and each of the meanings of all of our kids names.  My dad played Blessed Be Your Name.  It was a nice time, and so wonderful to really have the support of everyone around me. 

Fast forward to today, the depression and anxiety still linger, but, generally speaking, the edge is gone.  There are still bad days.  There are still times of 'what do other people want me to be.' 

Wayne has been preaching on fear recently.  He gave the church an "assignment" to memorize
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

 

and

Philippians 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And one I've been focusing on on my own:
 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30