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An Audible Sigh

Did you hear it? The big sigh and cry of joy emanating from this place this morning? And, Dee, you can say I told you so! The Cross Quilt arrived at its new home this morning. I then received an e-mail that said:

It arrived and it is gorgeous!!!!  One problem though — The box was damaged
and bent in the middle when it arrived and the top metal bar is bent.  UPS
noted it was damaged and said the UPS office from which it was shipped will
be responsible for replacing this part.  I hate this happened but it is more beautiful than I even imagined. Thank you Gerrie for being obedient and using your God-given talents for this ministry!

Know that you have "set the bar" high with us!  Go for it!!  Never
underestimate your God-given talent and how you use it.  He has blessed you
with it, you honored the talent, used it and now he blesses you again!

OK, so it was not all good news. I can’t believe that the box I had it in could have been crushed and bent so easily. The aluminum hanging rod was damaged beyond repair so I have ordered a new one. I shipped with UPS because they let me insure it for its full value and FedEx wouldn’t. So I have ordered a new hanger and we will have to wait to see it hanging for a week or so. Thank goodness the quilt was not damaged. I had it wrapped in cloth and tied, then wrapped in plastic garbage bags and then wrapped with bubble wrap. It was in a double box designed for shipping art work.

Of course the best news is that they love it.

It is still unusually hot in Portland. Steph and the kids came over this afternoon to hang out in my basement where it is relatively cool. We also made a trip to Fabric Depot where they are having 30% off all fabric. Steph got some wonderful things for her stuffed animals and tissue holders. I picked up these goodies:

Fabricdepotpurchases_1

The polka dot and brown are for something special I am making for Steph. It is a surprise so I can’t say what it is right now. The teal is silk organza to make a sash for Mia’s flower girl dress. I bought her a plain white, tea length dress at Nordsrom (it is white organza over taffeta0, but I wanted to dress it up with a sash to match the bridesmaid’s dresses.

I also bought Teflon fabric to cover my ironing table and white felt to cover my screen printing and painting table.

Later, Jack came over and we all went to an air-conditioned restaurant and had pizza – well I had a salad with shrimp and bubbly water!

 

11 Responses to “An Audible Sigh”

  1. Judy says:

    Big sigh of relief here….about your quilt not being damaged. Wonder how on earth they treated that poor box…if they had only known what treasure lay within, they would have been much more careful!!!
    What nice and affirming words from the Mobile church! You must be so very proud of yourself!!!
    How lucky you are to have Fabric Depot right there!!! Portland and the area have so many wonderful spots for treasure hunting!!!
    It figures that you are hot…we are enjoying some moderate temps now. Hope it cools off for you soon. Are the fabulous berries all in now? My favorite summer treat in Portland is a raspberry milkshake. Can’t remember the name of the fast food joint that sells them, but that is always a stop for me when I’m in the area. YUMMMMM!
    Congrats, dear heart!!! 🙂

  2. Elle says:

    I’m just glad that it made it there safely! I’m always surprised at how damaged the boxes get!

  3. Diane says:

    Oh, I’m so glad they liked it! How wonderful to know that your work was received so well. I can’t wait to see how it looks hanging. And it’s too bad the bar was bent–what if something had to be damaged, that was the best thing, right? Easily replaced?! Now you can go work on something that is FUN and just for you.

  4. Karoda says:

    your joy is my joy! what an excellent affirmation!

  5. Pat says:

    Congratulations! You must be sooooo thrilled it is behind you!
    It’s totally wonderful, Gerrie. Thanks for sharing the process.

  6. Anne Bebbington says:

    It doesn’t surprise me at all about the rod being damaged – if you could see what these people do to the boxes in their ‘care’ – you’d never send anything by carrier again – scary stuff – to be honest it’s a miracle anything gets there ok at all – so glad your quilt was undamaged – you can always get another bar but replacing the quilt would be a different story :o)

  7. dee says:

    I TOLD YOU SO…sorry- but how often do I get to say that? Sometimes what is obvious about our work to everyone else, is unbelievable to us. Hope the heat disipates soon. We are having 40 days and nights of rain so I have begun working on the ark. You’re a treasure…pat yourself on the back.

  8. Jen Anderson says:

    Surely you never doubted that they would love it? Sorry to hear about the hanging bar, but at least that is easily replaced.
    It was fun to see the quilt in stages as you worked on it, and wonderful to see the finished product.
    It’s hot here too, but alas, no basements in So Cal, so we must live in air conditioning (or go the beach if we aren’t going to work.)

  9. Deborah says:

    I’m bummed not to see the quilt hanging in the church. I’m not good at waiting. But, of course, I’m glad it arrived safely. What a hassle about the bar. What a thoughtful email you received from your contact person, also. I thought her use of the word “obedient” was quite interesting. I don’t think we artists think of our work in that way very often. Maybe we should.

  10. teri says:

    I was wondering about the heat there. I am guessing that, like in the UP of Michigan, very few people in your area have air conditioning in their homes. Hot weather in the UP happens MAYBE in August and rarely lasts more than a week but it IS humid as well as hot but most of us choose that week to either go south or head for the lake and the water temp in Lake Superior rarely gets above the 60’s).

    Stay cool. Glad the quilt arrived ok even if the bar didn’t. Having friends who work for UPS I am not surprised….you would cringe to hear the stories of how they *mess* with the packages…..

    teri

  11. bobbi says:

    so glad the quilt arrived undamaged! it would have been awful if all your hard work and artistry had to be redone!
    (does fabric depot have ultrasuede?)