My life has been going to the dogs recently, but in a good way.  I’ve been sewing and quilting with the whimsical dog fabrics that I designed.  The collection, It’s a Dog’s Life, is available from VIP by Cranston Printworks.  I recently designed and made this quilt, which will be featured on a segment of Martha Pullen’s Sewing Room on PBS.

The pattern is available on Quilting Treasures website for downloading the free pattern in PDF format.

Happy quilting, or woof, woof!

Phyllis

I’ve always known that crafting reduces stress.  As I work on a quilt, sewing, needlework or other craft project, I can always feel the stress just float away  But did you know that crafting is therapeutic for all types of health conditions?

In a new blog, Craft for Health , crafters and artists write about the therapeutic effects of crafting on their health issues or traumatic events in their lives.  You can read my guest blog on how crafting helps me with Restless Leg Syndrome.

Craft for Health was founded by Kathy Peterson and Barb Dehn  RN, NP.  Kathy says, on her inspiration for creating this blog, “I always heard people telling me how much they enjoyed crafting and used it as therapy.  I also saw a void in the market.  So I approached Barb Dehn, a long time friend and business colleague about combining forces together (craft expertise with medical expertise) and we launched CFH. Together we are promoting health and wellness through crafting. Whether it’s quilting, scrap booking or using a hot glue gun, crafting can help everyone create hand made health.”

Kathy has a long career as a design expert, author and TV host and spokesperson and is currently co-hosting Lifetime TV’s The Balancing Act.  Barb is a TV health expert (ABC, CNN, NBC) and spokesperson, visits with patients and publishes health brochures.

I invite you to read my post as well as all the other inspirational and sometimes heartbreaking posts.

May you have a happy and healthy day!

Phyllis

While searching through a closet recently, I found a box that contained some letters I had saved from years ago. I read letters written to me by my mother and aunts at various stages of my life – collage, as a newlywed, and as a new mother. I also saved several letters written to me on Mother’s Days from my very young son.

As I looked at their handwriting and read their words, memories came flooding back at each instance they wrote about. I remembered my mother sending me recipes when I first got married because I didn’t know how to cook anything other than eggs and mashed potatoes (not together, of course!). When my mother passed away, we found stacks of letters that she had saved from my brothers and me and our children as well as letters from her friends, sisters and other relatives.

When I was growing up, long distance calls were expensive, so writing was the norm. Emailing is now the norm. With the ease of emailing and social media such as Facebook along with inexpensive calling to anyone from anywhere,  keeping in touch is immediate, fast, convenient and easy.

The instant communication and connection is wonderful. However, the art of hand writing a letter has almost been lost. Emails are easily deleted or lost when a hard drive crashes. Even if printed out, an email looks so impersonal.

Without the personal handwritten letters, a part of our own history is lost to ourselves as well as to future generations. Our children, friends, brothers and sisters, spouses will not be able to pick up letters we’ve written many years before and relive these memories, or just feel the feeling that comes when seeing a love one’s handwriting.

Several years ago, my mother gave me a letter my father had written to her right after I was born. She also gave me a congratulatory telegraph sent by a close friend after my birth. Although the telegraph is not hand written, I know that the effort that it took to send it was more personal and involved than a quickly written email. I treasure these.

Although our lives are fast paced, we need to take a few minutes to write a letter or note to someone dear, just to say hello or to comment on a special occasion or event and actually use snail mail to send it.  And you can be sure that it will bring a smile to your face while writing it as well as to the person receiving it and each time in the future it is read.

Happy writing!

Phyllis

(c) Phyllis Dobbs

I taped two segments for the Martha Pullen’s Sewing Room yesterday for the Warm Company ( they make the fabulous batting and fusible web that I use in all my quilting and applique projects).  The taping was exciting and Martha is such a warm and nice person.  Well, not just her, everyone who works for her is the same way, so it was a very enjoyable day.  Of course, I carried my camera and took photos during the day.   The project featured on one segment was a quilt, which I made using the fabrics that I designed, “Its a Dog’s Life” for Quilting Treasures on which I demonstrated a stipple quilting technique. Martha’s assistants, who are great at setting up the sets, are arranging the quilt.

For the second segment, I designed this apron shown here with Martha. It also is made with “Its a Dog’s Life” fabrics and features applique. The fuchsia fabric used for the main part of the apron features dog bones, so I appliqued dog bones around the bottom.  Since the block and yellow fabric also feature birds, I appliqued a bird at the top above the pocket. I know I’m short, but standing next to the apron which was raised for viewing by the camera, I look even shorter. 

The segments will be shown this fall and winter (2009-2010), so please watch for it on your local stations.  I am working up instructions for the quilt and apron and will post the free patterns here shortly.

Thanks for visiting!

Phyllis

OK all you apron lovers – check out this book “The Best Apron Book Ever“. !  I  received a copy which has an apron that I designed featured in it.  In fact, it made the cover!  The book, filled with 12 wonderful apron patterns, is published by The House of White Birches.  Aprons are so fashionable and so easy and fun to make!  Check back as I have a free apron pattern coming up that I think you will love!