Author Archives: Judith Oswald

Our world seems crazy now–lots of turmoil, division, hate and change. Easy for a person to feel sad, confused, and afraid. But it is also very important to find comfort, happiness, serenity and to be grateful for all the good things in our world. I keep telling myself this isn’t the first time our worldContinue reading “Finding happiness”

Remember the stories and jokes about students required to write a paper “What I did over my Summer Vacation”? This post could be titled “What I did over my Labor Day Weekend”. We had a staycation after a spring and summer full of trips. But we did do some “vacations” things. We went to twoContinue reading ““What I did on Vacation””

It rained last night! We had 3/4 inch in our rain gauge. Receiving rain in Kansas is very exciting. Ninety two percent of the state is in drought with twelve percent being in extreme drought. We have had rain in August which is unusual but it has not made up the deficit that has existedContinue reading “A Bumper Crop”

We receive many pieces of “junk” mail. Usually they get tossed in the recycling cart on my way in from the mail box. But this ad magazine cover grabbed me. “Shop Local Shop Small”. That could be the theme for our Quilts Etc Sale and for all the items sold by the Quilters at FirstContinue reading “Shop Local, Shop Small”

The grandchildren have returned home from visiting their grandparents. The Church Class Ice Cream Social happened last night. The school buses are rolling through the neighborhoods, and there have been a couple of cool evenings when dog walkers ventured out to marvel at the fall like temps while reminding each other there is still lotsContinue reading “Late Summer Vibes”

The TV Ministry at First United Methodist Church is 48 years old! Every Sunday morning at 11am, thousands of viewers watch FUMC’s worship service in their homes, care facilities, shops and hospitals. It was a life line for me during the COVID pandemic. My dog and I would curl up on the sofa and beContinue reading “TV Ministry and Quilts”

Every summer, “”it” arrives. This past Wednesday afternoon, Janis casually placed a large bag on my table and announced that “it” was finished! And every year we can’t imagine “it” will match last year, much less exceed “it”. Well, it did and we are excited to share “it” —Janis’ appliquéd wallhanging for the Quilt Sale.Continue reading ““A Time for Gathering””

“Young people aren’t learning to sew” or “Quilting is a dying art” is often said to me when someone learns I quilt or that I taught sewing. And it is true that the numbers of youth learning to sew is much lower than it was in the 20th century. But, after being part of twoContinue reading “Who is Learning to Sew?”

Last Sunday our Church had a Pot Luck lunch to welcome new staff members. It was a huge success! The hall was full of families, couples and singles enjoying the food and the conversations–measured by the sounds of laughter and occasional bits of dialogue. The long tables were crammed with all sort of salads, sideContinue reading “Pot Luck Quilt Sales!”

Before I start this post, I want to be very clear—there is nothing about quilting in the following paragraphs. It has been three weeks since I have been with my quilting group, and longer since I have sewn–not counting hemming my husband’s slacks. The only “quilting moments” in the past two weeks were looking atContinue reading “Italy and Greece-Summer of ’24”