A Gift for Larry

LARRY BATEMAN

Larry D. Bateman 1962 ~ 2011 We are all very saddened by the passing of Larry D. Bateman on Saturday, March 26, 2011. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. He was born February 24, 1962 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Peggy Arlene Hodges and Jerry Glen Bacel. Larry graduated from Granite High School in 1980 and then proudly served his country as a US Marine. He was an excellent carpenter and enjoyed passing his knowledge onto others. He was blessed with many friends, some of whom he considered his family. Larry was a loving husband to Ellen Cleveland and a proud father to daughters Charity and Arianne and sons, Chaz and Trevor; grandfather to Kaleb, Sharese, Arabella and David ; brother to Doug and wife, Janet; uncle to Tawnya, Joshua and Natawsha; great nieces and nephews; and a wonderful son-in-law to Glena Cleveland. Larry is preceded in death by daughter, Cheala; mother and father, Robert and Peggy Jorgensen; daughter, Cheala; granddaughter, Kyla; grandmother, Viola Stiles. Funeral services will be held Saturday, April 2, 2011, 12:00 noon at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road where a viewing will be, 11 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Graveside services will be held Monday, April 4, 2011, 10:00 a.m. at Utah Veterans Memorial Park, 17111 South Redwood Road, Bluffdale, Utah.

Published in Deseret News on April 1, 2011

I know this is a stitching blog, but I wanted to share with you some photos of what his friends are doing for his final resting place.

What you see here is brotherly love, the love of a friend who will truly be missed.  A dear friend of his, Sam, wanted to build him a casket, a casket made by loving hands of those that loved him as a brother, not only as a friend.

With this in mind, there were a handful of people who had the honor to create something beautiful from beginning to end to cradle Larry in.

Because Larry  was a master carpenter, Superintendent, it only seemed fitting that the working hands of those that loved him make him this beautiful "bed".

I don't have any final pictures of it yet.  The handles and brackets still need to be attached along with the pretty lining. But all in all how fabulous is this!

Larry was also known as the "Devil Dogg" aka "Tazmanian Devil" at least that was how he addressed himself as. I will miss working with him, talking with him and seeing his bubbly and fun sense of humor he possessed. May you rest in peace........

WINDOW SHOPPING

Not much to say today.  I lost a friend to suicide this weekend.  My heart is bleeding.....

Winding to UnWind

Do you wind to unwind?  Have you ever even thought about winding to unwind?  Well, I hadn't until last night.  While visiting my sweet 83 year old mother-in-law at the care center, I sat next to her winding my DMC thread onto some bobbins while she stewed over her dinner.  A dinner that was too salty, too bland, and not very good, so I think I am not hungry enough to eat dinner!  lol  I had a rough day and was not in the best of moods until I saw my MIL's smiling face.  But, don't let that fool you......she has some fire left in her and she lets you know it every once in awhile.  Especially when she wants to get out of there and GO HOME!  She has been recovering from some surgery she had just over a week ago to remove some tumors from her bladder wall.  I am still waiting for the test result from the hospital.

So while she is recovering I am stitching, and working, and well......the list goes on.  Here is a current photo of the Friendship Sampler from BOAF that I have been working on.

I have been working on a little "Twister" quilt that has been fun so far, but still need to dedicate some more time to get it done.

Meanwhile, I won a giveaway from Nancy of Bountiful Heirlooms .   She sent me a charm pack from Moda called "Baskets of Flowers" and a fabulous pattern with lots of pincushion patterns.  Now I just need to decide which one to make first!!   Decisions, decisions, decisions.  Thanks Nancy!!!!

On March 11th my (sweet 16 and never been kissed) son, Brayden, celebrated his 16th birthday.  What a milestone!!!!!  He had so much fun which included "three" birthday parties.  The first party was celebrated at Garcia's Mexican Restaurant on his real birthday, the 11th, followed by a party with friends on the 12th and last one with family on the 13th.  Lucky for me he is taking drivers education right now and has to complete 40 hours of drive time with his learners permit before he can get his official drivers license.  That won't happen until August because he has to have his learners permit for six months before he can take the actual test.  Here are just a few of his birthday photos:

Next up is a cute Bird Pincushion that my friend, Kathryn, made for me.  I should have taken a photo of the other side as is has a little pocket that holds a thread separator.  Isn't it just darling!!!! 

I have the last finish I made for 2010 to show you.  It is "One Sheep" by Carriage House Samplings.

Stitched on 32 ct. black linen using DMC threads as per pattern.  No changes were made.

Another finish by The Goode Huswife called, "Fruitful Clusters".  I loved stitching this one, too.  It never got old, the journey with needle and thread was fabulous!

Thanks for stopping by for a quick visit, I know I shouldn't be a stranger to blogging, I need to work on that one, too.  Happy day and as always....keep smiling and stitching! 

FESTIVAL OF BROKEN NEEDLES

I FOUND THIS INTERESTING AND WANTED TO SHARE.....

On February 8th, all across Japan, Harikuyo will take place in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Hari means noodle, and Kuyou is a Buddhist memorial service. Memorial services are usually held for spirits of the dead but it is also common to hold them for inanimate objects that have served well in life, or indeed that life depends on.

Known as the Festival of Broken Needles, it is a ritual of thanks and respect for tools of the sewing, tailoring and embroidery trades. It dates back 1500 years; women (and men) dress in fine kimono and gather together all of the needles they've used, broken and/or and worn out during the previous year. They proceed to the local temple or shrine, where a three-tiered altar is prepared. The lower level displays sewing accessories, such as scissors, thimbles, thread and so forth. The top tier offers seasonal fruit, and white mochi (ceremonial rice cake offerings). In the center section is a large slab of tofu, into which everyone plunges the pieces of their broken needles.

Later they will be taken to a sacred final resting place. The tofu keeps them safe and not forgotten, yet because of being protected in the tofu they can do no harm with their points. In a second sense they are still present in life. The priest will incant a sutra, that reflects the passage of the needles from use, and invokes a Buddhist blessing that is passed on to the users of the needles. By showing respect to the needles they have used through the past year, they are offering thanks and requesting that the power and energy of the needles be present in the stitchers for the coming year, so that their skills may be improved. Priests will also sing sutras to comfort the needles, heal their broken spirits and thank them for work well done. No sewing takes place on this day.

Resources: Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History; Rufus,Anneli: The World Holiday Book, Harper San Francisco 1994; About.com/Japan

HELP.....ANYONE!!!

*****EDITED*****

Thanks to a fellow blogger, I have located this pattern. Thank You Joan!!!!

Does anyone have this pattern called "Betsy" by Sheepish Designs?  I am dying to stitch this one!!!!