The End and a Glorious Beginning

David Brian Johnson 9/28/1954---12/8/25

I am so grateful for the life we shared and even more grateful that Dave is now with Jesus and out of his miserable body. 

Tomorrow would have been our 48th wedding anniversary. 

As he lay dying, I was holding his hand and reading from the Psalms and praying for his soul to be lifted. I sang Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, Grant us your peace.

Telling him it was ok to let go and let the angels take him up to heaven, and to not be afraid, I removed his wedding ring and put it on my finger and will wear it til we meet again. Then I saw a tear roll down his cheek and it was just minutes later that he breathed his last. 

Then I washed his body and straigbtened  him out to wait for the hospice nurse to come and carry out the procedures.

We, meaning his sister Carol and brother -in-law Dan, completed the paperwork to donate his body to Restore Life in Elizabethton TN and they will be picking him up shortly. There will be no funeral or wake or any of that. That is how I want my end to be too. Our priests have been here regularly praying for Dave and giving him communion when he could participate, which has been a long time ago now. I am surrounded by the most fabulous people and they have all prayed for a peaceful end, which of course is just exactly as it happened. 

I have been weepy in the last few weeks but now I am rejoicing for his spirit and so glad that he is past from this life into eternal life. How do people do it who have no faith?

Oooh the sun just came out and my sister is on her way to bring me breakfast. What a glorious day.

Meow #7: Big Boy

Meow #7: Big Boy

Hand dyed cotton and silk, commercial cottons, fused, machine quilted. 18x24"

Now that I am a kitty mommy again, it only seems right to revisit the Meow series. My new big boy, who is gray and white, not orange and purple, is the inspiration anyway. He's not sure what he is doing here, but is more worried about when he can have more to eat. His whiskers were the finishing touch and are made from silk Charmeuse. So fancy. The meows in the background are the song of his people. Available for $250 plus shipping. Email me. Sold.

 

Thanksgiving 2025

I'm very thankful for the following blessings:

The hospice caregivers who come in and help me with Dave, bathing him and taking his vitals, bringing in supplies and sharing tricks to keep him clean and comfortable.

The wonderful caregivers who stay with Dave while I try to run errands, go to Bible study, and get things done in the studio.

That we only got our crawl space flooded and not the first floor of our house. Others on our block had it a lot worse. 

My good health and the return of my sanity as I let myself depend on others for help, which was a big deal if you know how much I think I can do it all myself.  Wrongo Bozo.

I am so thankful for the new friendships I have found with women at my church, in our Bible study group and in my knitting group. Women are the best! I feel like I am finally one of the 'popular kids' and it is just amazing. 

All my yarn.

I am really really thankful for my family, my sister, her husband, my niece, Dave's sister-and-brother in law and their grown up kids who all love and support me and bring me so much joy. And my dear far flung brother who I miss so much and wish he lived here.

Having David for this last season of his life. I have been thinking over our 47 years ( 48 in 12 days) and it has been such a partnership of love and adventure. I wouldn't be who I am without his nudging. 

And now how about a recipe?

Apple spice cake

Spice cake mix

4 small apples, cored ( no need to peel) and shredded in the food processor

1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice mix

1 cup water 

3 eggs

1/4 cup veg oil

Place the shredded apple in a colander to drain,  or not...My apples were quite juicy, even tho they were slightly shriveled, which is what got me to make this cake.

Mix all the rest of the ingredients and forget to put the veg oil in the mix. Duh. I also didn't use the whole cup of water, as the apples were so juicy. 

I found four little loaf pans in the way-back of the cabinet and lined them with parchment and divided up the batter. Bake at 350 degrees (in my wonderful toaster oven)  until the batter pulls away slightly from the edges of the pan. It is hard to over cook these, as the apples were....you know,  moist.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

House Series #39

 

A dear friend at church took me aside and said he wanted to give his wife one of my quilts for Christmas. There aren't many (affordable) quilts available that might work and the thought of making a small one or quilting up an existing top, surfaced in my mind, but I made no promises. But I did say that I was looking for a sign to get back into the studio and maybe this was it. Gulp.

It's been a while and I felt rusty. But there was something I had wanted to make, or shall I say, remake and I pulled up the image of the previous quilt and used that as a stimulus. This time I would make it much bigger, something that would look good on a 20"square wood panel.  If this worked I could offer it as a sample of a small work, or even let him buy this one. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

First I had to make it. 

This meant getting my head out of knitting mode and back into fabric. The studio dance had to begin. 

1. Set up my Bluetooth and Pandora for music

2. Make a big pot of tea

3. Pull fabric and find the Teflon pressing sheet

4. Where are my rotary cutters?

5. Cut a piece of batting to get the feel for size

6. Decide where to start

The house is the place and finding fabric for that got me rolling. I made a big mess, but that is how this works. It wasn't until the second day that I got in a large folding table to hold all the possible fabrics and scraps and get them off my work surface. But by then I was almost finished. 

I was ready to place the tree and had to find just the right fabric for this color scheme. It must be color changing, in just the right way. Aha! I found it. Then came fusing the top to the batting for the hand embroidery part. Next came the quilting. On a piece like this I usually quilt with feed dogs up, vs free motion. Stitching in the ditch first, and then later I will find a spot to do a little decorative free motion design, and sign my name.  

Matching a thread to the fabric makes this part very subtle until one gets close up.

That's it. Done-aroo. I use these wonderful sticky Velcro dots from Walmart to adhere the quilt to the wood panel which finishes off the piece in a most professional way, in my humble opinion. 

I'll send pics of this and the smaller house quilt that I have in inventory to the client and see if he bites.  

I'm pricing this at $250 and this 12" square one at $100.

Pineapple

I swore: NO MORE PETS

O well. I succumbed.

My friend Ashleigh had a problem with Pineapple and a neighbor cat, and Pineapple had to go. He is 6 years old, neutered and declawed and formerly an outdoor kitty. Not anymore. I don't want fleas so he's gonna be King of the House indoors and also be the only kitty, which will be new, for him and for me. We always had multiple cats, but unless another one like Pineapple shows up at my door, it will be only him. 

++++++

Diana asked about Dave in a comment. He is in bed ridden, is so thin despite eating all the time, has beginnings of bed sores, and sleeps most of the time, or lies awake staring at imaginary things. He wants to know the work schedule frequently so he is not late for work. He's been retired for 20 years but these things still haunt him. His legs are pulled up tightly to his body and it hurts him to move them when I change him. This is a terrible way to exist. I pray that God will have mercy and take him home soon. 

Fuss Free Cowl #6

 When I said that this shape has endless possibilities, I was not kidding. With this piece, I went for a more petite fit, a more shoulder hugging size. And only two colors of merino! I love the edges which became sorta candy cane like. And the added tassel, which makes me so happy.

  Tassel in front or in back, or, what the hey, on the side. 

Here it is lying flat.  and a detail shot of the tassel. Available for $65 plus shipping. Email me.

 

Fuss Free Cowl #5

 O yes! Another one in the series, which includes the new yarn I ordered. Only one skein was the basis for all this color. Cascade 220 Superwash Sport. It's the yarn cake on the right that changed colors all along the way. Genius. I used contrasting yarns from my stash as the colors changed. Great way to use my yarns that are a lighter, thinner weight.

When the cowl part is worn in front the shawl part covers the back neck and shoulders, down to mid back. Very cozy and easy to wear under a coat. 

 I love how this design looks like a scarf that is tucked under at the neckline, but it is really sewn in place. 

Enough congratulating myself (!!) This is available for $60 plus shipping. Email me. 

++++++

Then this is the cowl I finished knitting yesterday for the gal in Alaska. The Dotty Cowl.  So soft and warm. When you have an item that is worn next to the skin, it is important to use yarn that has no itch factor. This is Malabrigo Rastita 100% merino, paired with Chroma Worsted from Knit Picks, the graduated pastel dots.

I guess summer is over

 My little maple is glowing and hanging onto its leaves. I planted it this spring and am so happy to see it really does turn red.

 This is the second planting of zinnias, which came up after the flood ruined my first crop. I didn't actually plant these, but they volunteered from the dropped seeds in the bed. Happy to have them for a few more days, now that the temps have dropped to 26 degrees.

 And my purple clematis survived the flood and looks even better than it did in the summer. 

But let's talk about knitting. I sold this shawl over the weekend to a former 'collector' in Alaska. 

She saw it when I posted it on Instagram which I rejoined, as my knitting is burgeoning and I must move inventory (doesn't that sound like I am a shopkeeper?). She asked for a shortie cowl, and I said I would knit one and send it off with the shawl. So I have been knitting all day yesterday and will continue today until it is ready to photograph and ship out. I love this. 

But it occurred to me that I should post the socks that I recently knit and offer those up, since they are not my size and are really very nice, if I do say so myself.

They are knit from 100% merino superwash, which means pop 'em in the washer and lay flat to dry.  They are extra squishy soft and if the wearer has long narrow feet, they would be perfect.  I wear a size 7.5 shoe and these are about 1.5 inches too long or I would keep them. Why would I make socks that don't fit me? I was so in love with the knitting that I got carried away. Typical. 

Anyway, a nice gifty for someone special this season?

$25 plus shipping. Email me.

Silky Creamy Cowl

        

Well...this was a dream to knit. Silk and merino yarn (50/50) light as a feather and yet so very warm. The color is just slightly off white, and has a tiny halo of fluffiness, which makes you want to pet it. 😊

I love the stitch definition, too, with a soft shine to each stitch.

Available for $45. Plus postage. Email me.