Kim Hanson

Writing & Quilting

Chicken Soup anyone?

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Good day. Last week, I heard the doorbell ring and sprinted to the front door. I cringed when my lighting-quick husband beat me to it. Peering over his shoulder, I watched him sign for a large, heavy box. My goal is to always be the first one to the front door. . . just in case the delivery is a giant box of fabric. My husband actually  thinks I have more than enough fabric already!

But this box was not fabric; it was way too heavy. Not being familiar with the return address, I ripped it open. Much to my surprise and delight, inside were my copies of  Chicken Soup for the Soul – Making Me Time. My story, Somewhere In-Between is featured within the pages of this inspirational book. 

This is a thrilling first for me; a non-fiction story of mine being published in the Chicken Soup series of books. I am pretty excited that all this is happening. The story in the book comes from one of those times that life overwhelms and you find yourself sitting alone, outside in the dark on the backyard deck at 3 o’clock in the morning. 

The book goes on sale soon; February 16, 2021. It’s available in bookstores everywhere and online.

Thanks so much everyone!

Kim

Third Act

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Months ago, I came across an editorial piece in a women’s business magazine. The writer, a middle-aged female, was lamenting her reality; that she had spent so much time on building her business that she had missed out on precious time with family. Her business was very successful and over the years, she had expanded its reach.  She was rightfully proud of what she has created, yet so regretful of the day-to-day family activities she had not witnessed.

As I read her words, I realized it was exactly the opposite for me. I’ve always had such grand business ideas that have not been fulfilled. The lion’s share of my time has been devoted to family. My husband’s job has always taken precedence – I worked a part-time job away from home, took care of our three children and ran our hectic household.

Our three children grew into lovely, caring, responsible adults. When I was 46 years old, and still kinda filled with a youthful exuberance, our lives were blessed with the birth of our first grandchild. I was able to take care of our boy during weekdays for four years, while his parents were at work. I learned very quickly that I didn’t  really have youthful exuberance, he did! Jacob wore me out, but those four years were truly some of the best of my life. We went everywhere together…he has such an adventurous soul. We visited the Y, the library, the zoo – and met some of the best people ever, especially at the local Y. He’s now almost 16 years old and I pray that our time together in his youth established an unbreakable bond for life.

I’m turning 62 pretty soon and now my Dad’s health is in decline. His driver’s license was taken away by his family doctor sometime ago, so I’ve become his eyes and ears on the road. Prostate cancer, alarmingly high blood pressure, kidney issues and deteriorating vision keep us both very busy with countless doctor’s visits and scans, scans and more scans. He needed an emergency CT scan and for expediency, his doctor sent us to High River, a town 45 miles away from home. The appointment was at dawn. Neither of us will ever forget the spectacular sunrise that day, the laughs we had or the great health care professionals at the tiny High River hospital. Sometimes, when we’re at the Mall for his haircuts or having a blood draw at the clinic, we take a few minutes and walk and talk and he grabs a coffee. We sit in the food court and he tells me things I never knew. Stories I’ve never heard.

I’m beyond mid-life and approaching my third Act. In retrospect, I may have regrets in my life, but I will never regret all the time I’ve been able to spend with my family. Thanks to my husband, who has always supported me no matter what, I’ve done what I’ve really wanted to do. I’ve wanted to be there to watch our kids grow. I’ve wanted to be there to spend time with our grandchildren. I’ve wanted to be there when my parents need me in their last days. I’ve been blessed to be able to do all of that. Thank you God.

 

Kim

 

 

 

Grandma Forgets

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My dream is to write picture books for children; I’ve been learning all I can in the past few years about writing for children.  I’ve taken many courses online (mainly through writers.com) and have loved and learned from each and every class. I’ve been working with a wonderful, established American children’s author, who is assisting me with invaluable feedback on my work. When my first children’s book is published, I will owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Grandma Forgets by Paul Russell & Nicky Johnston is just the type of book I aspire to write. It touched my heart and I wanted to share it with you all. Grandma has Alzheimer’s and doesn’t always remember her children or her grandchildren. Undaunted, Grandma’s family perseveres, visiting with her often, reminiscing about her wonderful long life and all the activities they have done together. The illustrations of their memories moves the story along.  The most lovely part of the book is that Grandma is always cheerful, always willing to engage with her grandkids, even if she doesn’t remember who they are. To the young granddaughter in the story, the most important thing is that Grandma knows how much she is loved.

Maybe a family member could make Grandma a “quilt of memories”? Maybe that would help her to remember? Maybe that’s another story.

Thanks everyone.

Kim

 

Memories in Fabrics and Threads

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As quilters, part of what we attempt to do is preserve memories. We preserve them in fabric – like a snapshot.

Last week online, I came across this adorable photo of quilt with a little girl nestled underneath it. I mean…just look at that little face! She’s so precious.

The quilt was designed and stitched by Robin from RobinSewCrazy. In 2007, she opened her shop on Etsy.  Here she is with one of her grandchildren.

Memory quilts are her specialty…she uses her client’s old/too small clothing as fabric for the applique hearts on the quilt top. Robin does not use a pattern for her work, creating each quilt individually and custom to her client’s request.

Robin’s quilted creations capture the imagination. Just looking at them makes me happy! I love the menagerie of fabrics and colours, and they way they all mesh together in the end.

Thanks everyone.

Kim

Ultraviolet Colour Palette

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Good Wednesday to you all!  Thank you so much for joining me here.

Last Wednesday, I posted stage one of our first contest for 2018. If you scroll down to last week’s post, you can browse through all wonderful, thoughtful comments that we received.

Last week, I came across a Facebook post for Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2018 – which is Ultraviolet.  You can see the beautiful, rich colour here.

I think it’s an inspiring colour and I love pairing purples/ultraviolets with teal and pink and sometimes yellow.

Now, for stage 2 of our contest.

Here is my fabric colour palette that I put together from some fabrics in my stash. To enter the contest, please leave me a comment here on the blog – what do you think of these colours? Do you like them? Which one(s) would you remove? Which ones would you keep?

By leaving a comment on the blog,  you are entered into the contest.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you all.  Thanks quilters.

Take care.

Kim