Needles and Pens

Among the flood of touching 9/11 tribute photos and status updates on Facebook this morning, I came across a link for the 9-11 Day Tribute Movement and the message, "Good deeds unite us on 9/11." How perfect, to commemorate this day by doing good deeds! So I made my pledge: Today I will (finally) sew some quilt blocks for Quilts of Valor , "to honor and comfort our wounded service members and veterans." It's something I've been meaning to do for a long time now, and what better day than today? And so, I will sew -- and remember... (Stay tuned for updates) 1:20 p.m. Okay, so I decided to go with the Breezy 4-Patch pattern from Lyn Brown's Layer Cake Quilts download. And here are my first four blocks. (Beware, this might make your eyes water a little bit.) Gag! Large prints apparently NOT the way to go! Lesson learned. Going back for round two -- with something a little more subdued in mind... 5:30 p.m. Four hours and several int...

"I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us, I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and women of will and vision." ~ Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967)

In New York, Washington, Pennsylvania, and outside my own window, The sky was the bluest, crisp September blue. I was writing something insignificant, though it seemed important at the time. And then came the call to turn on the news. I stood before the screen, immobilized, As the horror played out before my eyes, And the towers fell. And the tears fell. And frantic prayer rose to the heavens. My mother and I took a drive to the park To escape, to breathe, to find some sense of peace In the beauty of God’s creation. We found others there, of the same mind. Strangers, on any other day, But not that day. We were united in our sadness, Family, in our shared grief, We reached out to one another, And talked, teary-eyed, Only beginning to mourn our nation’s loss…