Headstone completed!

We stopped by to look at the headstone today and was surprised to see it is finished.  It looks so beautiful.  I am sure Laura approves. Tomorrow I hope to hear when it will be moved to the cemetery. I will keep you posted.

http://www.kochmonument.com/

She Is Gone

I came across this poem reprinted in The Grieving Garden by S Redfern and S Gilbert. The poem was written  by David Harkins. I took the liberty to insert Laura's name.

Monica L Jones lost her daughter, Bronwyn at the age of 9. Monica was one of the many contributors to the book. At the time of writing, it was 28 years ago that Bronwyn died.

Monica states "...with time one can remember one's child with calmness and gratitude." She included the poem because it expresses her feelings. I am posting it because it spoke to my heart.


LAURA IS GONE


You can shed tears that Laura is gone
Or you can smile because she lived


You can close your eyes and pray that Laura
will come back
Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left


Your heart can be empty because you can’t see Laura
Or you can be full of the love that you shared


You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday


You can remember Laura and only that she is gone
Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on


You can cry and close your mind,
Be empty and turn your back


Or you can do what Laura would want:
Smile, open your eyes, love and go on.


--David Harkins, 1981

Quilt--Western Theme

 This is my 6th project--a quilt for my

great nephew for Christmas 2010.

It is a cowboy theme.
The quilt turned out much larger than I planned

 (it is my largest piece so far).

I started with a pattern but soon discarded

it and worked my own design.

I used the “pillowcase style” to pull it together.

Denise (Cozy Quilt Shoppe) showed me how
to tie a quilt so I tied this one
 instead of stitching in the ditch.

The pockets (my favorite part of the quilt) are from
Laura’s jeans and the kerchief I found in her clothes bin.

I love how it turned out. It is a large and warm quilt.  

I hope my nephew gets a lot of comfort from it

 (as soon as his mother is tired of cuddling with it).

 

Reverse side

Table Runner

This is my second quilting project.
I used a lot of purple in this piece because

Pat and Laura’s favorite color is purple.

This is the first piece that I incorporated

fabric from Laura’s clothing.
The black lace is from a shirt she
wore with her red mini skirt and knee-high boots.

I took the lace from the neckline and sleeves.
She was about 17-19 years old.

Table Runner--wine motif

I made this table runner for a dining room table. 

The blue area was taken from Laura’s waitress shirt that she wore when she worked at Toast.

I also embroidered Laura’s dates and
“In Memory of Laura” on the front sides
(the inscription is very subtle—black on black).

I used a 9 square patch to make the blocks.
It is my 5th piece.

Reverse side of runner

Remembering Laura

We want to thank everyone for remembering Laura on her Angel Day. We received many calls and cards and each one is appreciated. I am sure Laura also feels the love from everyone.

One day we will be together again. In the meantime, we have work and fun to do here and you have work and fun to do there. We all miss you! Shine brightly my daughter.

With all our love,
Mom & Dad

A home for St Francis