This posting is the obituary for my lovely wife who went by the name  "Whitestone".   Judy's battle with cancer ended June 23, 2013  This will regrettably be the last post on this blog.  Thank you for loving and supporting her. She is now with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.    

Judy E. Peterson

• BORN: February 15, 1945
• DIED: June 23, 2013
• LOCATION: Onawa, Iowa

Judy Elaine Peterson, 68, of Onawa, IA, went home to be with the Lord Sunday, June 23, 2013, at Burgess Health Center in Onawa, IA after a 4-year battle with ovarian cancer.
A Memorial Service will be 11:00 A.M. Saturday, June 29, 2013, at Evangelical Free Church in Onawa, IA with Pastor Tim Koehn, officiating. There will be a private family burial in the Onawa Cemetery, Onawa, IA. There will be no visitation. Arrangements are under the direction of Rush Family Care Service, Onawa, Iowa.
Judy Elaine was born February 15, 1945, in Onawa, IA, the third child of Otto and Ellen (Jackson) Hall. She grew up on a farm in Kennebec Township, Monona County, IA. She graduated from Whiting High School. Later while working for the Monona County Soil & Water Conservation District she attended night school and graduated from Buena Vista University.
Judy's great joy in life was her family. In 1988 she married James Peterson. Together they had four children, Summer, Susan, Shawn, & Steven.
Judy enjoyed all aspects of homemaking, gardening, and was a prolific quilter.
She was active in her church and taught Bible for years to women in jail and prison.
Survivors include her mother, Ellen Golden, of Onawa, IA; her husband, James of Onawa, IA; their children, Summer Tuller , Susan (Mark) Belflower , Shawn (Leslie) Peterson, and  a sister, Ellen (Tim) Bennett; three brothers, Fred Hall, Terry (Mai) Hall, Thomas (Lois) Hall, nine grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her father, Otto, and her brother, James.
Memorials may be directed to Burgess Home Health and Hospice of Onawa, IA.

Progress on the Y2K Quilt reproduction

Difference in value

Last night I placed the border on the Y2KQ repro.  (Thanks to Anita Grossman Solomon for kindly providing the fabric!!! and to my longtime quilting buddy, Judy in Ohio, who met up with Anita at the Cincinnati quilt show and sent the fabric onward to Iowa!  You ladies are gems!)


If you remember, the repro is done with 1.25 inch squares, using a 1/8 inch seam on my vintage Singer 15-91.  The final quilt will be 40"x60" plus the border width. This is considerably (I do not exaggerate) smaller than the original which is a huge queen size.


As you can see there is considerable difference in value between the replacement border fabric and the original, so I felt the black inner border might blend too well with the new "2000" fabric.

Border on the repro...will bind in black

Instead I used a rather neutral fabric from my "recycled shirt" stash.  I admit, I put a few shirt squares in the quilt, too, wherever I could fit them in.  I just cannot get away from my shirt addiction. lol


I plan to baste today, hopefully. I had chemo yesterday and still have some extra energy from the steroid they infuse with the chemo.  If so, I will begin handquilting.

The original Y2KQ border

I debated hand quilting vs machine quilting (mine or professional) and decided on HQ.  Many days I do not have the gumption to sit at my machine. Secondly, I worried that MQ might not set off the quilt as well as "quiet hand quilting" might do.  Thirdly, on my more tired days I can still sit in the recliner and hand quilt. Fourthly, the original is hand quilted.


I think a black binding will be the best.


So what have YOU been doing for creative recreation?

Tell Me if I'm Making Much To-Do About Nothing

So why isn't this  in the news?
Why isn't it on the front page of the major news agencies?
Too lurid for the timid American heart?
Too ghastly for those of tender spirit?
Too "real" for those who don't want to see reality?

No, the reason this isn't on front-page America is because people go along with what was happening here.  They think "the ends justify the means"...whatever "ends" and "means" happen to mean to them.

If this were happening in some veterinary's surgical room, there would be screaming to high heaven (if anyone believes in heaven anymore).  If some veterinary had made him/herself a millionaire by doing this to so many cats/dogs/horses/cows the vet would be in prison faster than you can blink an eye. And there would have been oh-too-late offers to "adopt" all those kittens/puppies/foals/calves and offer homes where they could live happily ever after.

But the Philadelphia story?  Nah!  We're speaking only of humans here.  Of what importance are thousands (true figure unknown but surely much more than tens of thousands) of babies who were never allowed to enjoy what Thomas Jefferson called their "unalienable Rights".

If you haven't read about this yourself, click on the link in my first line and read what Melinda Henneberger has to say in today's Washington Post.  If you are not appalled, you might consider asking God why this does not cause your heart pain and sorrow.  We should all be sorrowing for these lives lost in such horrific, premeditated, evil manner.

And if you think this is "much to-do about nothing", read the Grand Jury report here.  Go ahead! Read it, and see if I exaggerate.

Whatever you do, don't bury your head in the sand.
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God help us.

Funny Thing How Two Words.....

Funny thing how two words that mean the same thing can mean different things to different people.

Infanticide ....

Abortion ....

They mean the same thing, you know!  Killing a human infant in its early life, whether that be in the mother's womb or out of the womb.  The result for each is the same...a dead human being.

How simple is that?

(For those who have experienced abortion, please know that God provides forgiveness and comfort, but only if you bow before him and acknowledge you have sinned.)

Every Time I Go to the Post Office I Remember.....

It's been four years and three months since I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, stage III-C.

That first year my slow recovery from debulking surgery (major surgery!) followed by six months of chemotherapy just about put me under.  I was weaker than a newborn kitten for such a long time and recovery was slow.  Each time I made a trip to the post office I had to climb 8 steps and then, returning to the car, climb down those same 8 steps.  I carefully placed my hands on the handrail to steady myself for fear I might take a tumble. I stepped carefully and purposely.

Nowadays, even while undergoing yet more chemo, I walk up and down those steps with ease. I seldom use the rail. Frankly, I'm amazed.

But, still, every time I go to the Post Office I remember that weakness. And it humbles me that I am doing so well, all things considered.

I firmly believe that all my days are numbered, that God holds me firmly in His hands, that nothing happens to me that is outside of His providence (His provision) for my life.  He has set me in a time and place where medical care is available and I diligently cooperate with my primary doc, my oncologist and a naturopathic doctor in trying to stay as healthy as possible.  I am grateful for this time and place.

I thank God daily for each new day.
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Upon Which I Duplicate my Y2K Quilt in Miniature

2000 1-inch squares of fabric

In 1999 I did a crazy thing.  I was a member of an online quilting forum and we began swapping packets of 2.5 inch assorted fabrics to make a 2000-piece Y2K (Year 2000) Quilt.  It was a huge success and if you google "y2k quilt" you will come up with remarkable quilts.


A few months ago I decided to reproduce my own Y2KQ in a smaller format. The original is a huge queen size. I wanted a smaller size to use as a wall quilt (art quilt). And I had plenty (shall I say PLENTY) of squares of fabric still in my stash.


Well, the 2000 pieces of my reproduction are now stitched together...almost...it is pinned to the wall in four sections so I still need to sew three horizontal seams. The original,  completed in 1999, consisted of squares 2-inches in size after stitching. The repro is done in 1-inch squares and finishes to 40 x 50 inches.  (The design is my original design.)


I still need to add the border.

My original was featured here.

My original was featured in the Spring 2001 issue of QUILT magazine along with my graphed pattern.  And it was part of a special exhibit of the Y2K quilts at the Houston Quilt show in 1999.  You can read about that exhibit here.


I still have squares left over.  And a quilting buddy in Canada can look for a packet of 950 squares in the mail to make her own Y2K quilt. As she mentioned in an email to me, she considers this a "masochistic plan". 

Vintage Singer Model 15-91 in Queen Anne cabinett

 In the meantime, I'm cleaning up my cutting table...I have a huge pile of "leavings" after cutting 2000 squares down to size.  I cut at 1.25" and used 1/8 inch seams. It was easy to do as my vintage Singer 15-91 has a 1/8 inch pressure foot. Perfect!  This has been my most used machine over the years for it is durable, easy to maintain, has great speed, and with a darning foot, I have used it to machine-quilt many a quilt.  The only maintenance I do on it is to clean and oil it periodically....no trips to the shop to pay someone else to do that...it is an easy task.  I love this machine!

So What's Up With Toilet Paper These Days, Anyway!

You know, I liked shopping a lot better when there were four choices of toilet paper...Charmin, Northern, Scott, Store Brand.  I mean, really, who needs an entire aisle devoted to toilet paper?

Today's choices include super-soft, double-roll, 12-packs, 6-pack double rolls, 12-pack double rolls, two-ply, one-ply, you-name-it-they-got-it.

Weirdly, the 12-pack doesn't seem to last as long as the old standard four-pack. Or is it just us at our house, over-doing the necessities of life?

Take a look at the size of the cardboard roll. I swear it's much larger in diameter than the oldies. That means less paper. And take a look at the width? I swear it's not as wide as it used to be.  Wish I could find me some old-fashioned tissue and just measure.

I don't remember having to buy toilet paper as often in years past. A four-pack would last quite awhile. Or maybe we weren't wiping our butts much in those days. But I THINK we did. I don't remember ever NOT doing that.

Oh, hey, our grocery store now and then has a coupon in their ad for a 69-cent toilet paper.  It comes in a four-pack and I kid you not, it appears to be small enough for a doll house. That may be a slight exaggeration, but only slight.  It's miniature!  Anyone can see that! Who do they think they are fooling?

Who would think toilet paper manufacturers would set out to bamboozle America?

And is anyone noticing?

So what's YOUR favorite brand these days?