A Quilt to Pass the Time...

Throughout history women have used quilting as a way to pass the time

- such as when a husband or son was off at war like the Dear Jane Quilt.

That would keep you busy right?

But what a cool thing to do with your time - at the end of the war she actually had something to show for her time - not just a bunch of worrisome nights.

Well my mom, sister, and I have decided to do the same thing while I am in Japan.  We are going to make 36 quilt blocks (one a month).  We have chosen a color palate so that all of the bocks will coordinate, meaning our quilts will match.  At the end, we will make 3 quilts, 12 blocks each, so that we will each have something to commemorate that time (and use it as kind of a countdown system).  So here are our rules - and we haven't come up with a catchy name for this project either, so if you think of one we are open to suggestions :)

RULES:

1. Prewash fabrics

2.  Each finished block must be 20 1/2" x 20 1/2"

3.  The color palate is Orange, Yellow, Turquoise, Navy, and muslin.

4.  You must embroider your initials and the month/year onto your block

5.  Your block must be mailed to the next person by the 7th of the month

(we're going to take turns ex: Oct. mom, Nov. me, Dec. joanna, Jan. mom, Feb. me, March, joanna etc. etc.)

6.  We will mail our block, plus the previous blocks to the next person so that we can see the progress, but we will only do this for 12 blocks, then we will start over ( we didn't want to have to mail tons of blocks )

7.  At the end, we will have a bee.  We will put all 36 blocks in a bag and each grab 12 blocks without looking.  Then we'll piece our quilt tops! 

I'm pretty excited.  We will each have a sampler-style quilt at the end of the three years!

xoxo

jessica

Anchors Aweigh...

So here's the first announcement of the week:

My husband has been accepted as an Officer into the United States Navy Medical Services Corps!

It's been a very long process (taking almost 7 months, and a lot of patience...), but I am so proud of him and this great service we are going to do together.  Plus he'll look great in that uniform ;)

So here's a hint about where we will be stationed:

pic from here

can you guess??

pic from here

We're moving to Japan!!

We will be stationed for 3 years at the naval base in Yokosuka, Japan - just south of Tokyo.

This has not been a decision we've made lightly.

Which is one of the reasons I've been distracted

- a lot of emotions have been running through my little head and heart. 

Lots of people say they would love the adventure of living overseas - but it's a whole different thing to actually pack up your things and fly 18 hrs to live in another country for 3 years. 

We are very close to our family and will be very sad that we won't be able to see them as much as we have been.  But we know that in the span of a lifetime, 3 years is just a blink of an eye. 

So Ryan starts medical officer training in the middle of October.  That will last 5 weeks and Charlotte and I will be staying with family during that time.  Then we will head on over to Japan! 

We decided to join the Navy for several reasons, but here are a few:

*they offer excellent loan repayment for medical professions (9 years of college hasn't been cheap)

*the work is diverse - Ryan will work with families on the base as well as train sailors and marines in hearing conservation.

*lots of benefits - free medical services, shopping at the exchange...etc.

So we feel that this is definitely the best financial move for our family,

as well as a great cultural experience, and a chance to serve our country!

I will definitely be continuing this blog - so you can follow right along with all of our adventures. 

I guess I'm going to have to learn amigurumi :) 

and I've already scouted out the fabric stores in Tokyo - there are lots! 

So I'll have access to fun Japanese fabrics, paper, and washi tape ;)

If you have any info for me about JapanI'd love to hear it

(although please only share encouraging stories - I know there will be difficult times, but I'd like to focus on the positive).

hope you're having a great day!

xoxo

jessica

Oh, oh it's magic...

Here are some pics from our lovely dinner Friday evening.

Disney truly makes it magical. 

It wasn't cheesy at all and the characters came to each table and talked to us for a while and we took our picture with them.

For some reason, when Prince Charming and Cinderella came in, I bawled like a baby...lol... which in turn made Charlotte then my mom then my sister cry. 

It was hysterical.  Our guys were like "what is going on???"

but then we settled down and ate great food and yummy dessert. 

Afterwards we walked around the grounds until we could spot the castle off in the distance.  This is the dress my mom made (by that time the bow had come off..)

 

Sparkly shoes.  Of course.

All the girls with Cinderella (after we had gotten all the crying under control ;)

It was wonderful - I highly recommend it - and it's a dinner at the Grand Floridian Resort so you don't have to be in the park to do this (i.e. making it more affordable, especially if you are local).

Well, hope your weekend was magical too, and maybe filled with a few happy tears.

xoxo

jessica