Cissy's Quilt

Here is my darling friend and kindred spirit Cissy

(Solomon, Lizzy and Zion too)  They call me Auntie Lisa-I just love them so much.

Cissy just LOVES color. She looks so fabulous in Color and her home is full of Beautiful colorful African art and colorful hings she has made. I chose some new bright colors and patterns they had at the Sewcial Lounge 

My eye is always drawn to this kind of Star. I didn't use a tutorial. I tried to figure it out on my own...bad Idea. I ended up hand quilting the star applique style by hand on the white fabric. 

 I had a ton of fun machine quilting this.This was the first time I tried Loops and twirls. It was a lot of fun and not as hard as I imagined it would be. 

This is a wall-hanging size. I used my grandma's Navy fabric with tiny white dots for the back and the binding. I finished the binding by hand. It's my touch of love on every quilt I make. It's my Favorite Part.

I have learned a lot about the Holocost this year and some of the images of the mothers and children are burned into my mind. Until I moved here I never knew of war this way until I met some friends from Sudan and Uganda. Some of their children have suffered and suffer much just as those poor Jews during the Holocust.  My emotions are almost too much to bear sometimes when I read about these things.  Cissy is from Uganda. She was raised in a boarding house type of school-being prepared to marry the King. I tease her sometimes that she DID marry a King- Solomon her husband.  In making the Star of David, I was reminded of the Jews during the war and when I think of what they went through, I think of what a lot of Africans have gone through and currently go through and these thoughts bring me closer to home, where my heart should be.  I want to scoop up Spencer and Jess and Kate and wrap us all in Harry Potter's Cloak of Invisibility and just Hide Away. 

Cissy and Solomon had been gathering books and clothes to take to the children in the Hospital with them when the visited Uganda last year. I told them our church group would be more than happy to donate. Soon I was gathering Boxes and Boxes and Bags and Bags full of clothes, shoes, books and toys. It soon became a Stake Service Project.(a Stake-like a Stake that hold up a tent- is like 5-10 Mormon congregations gathered together) With Several Congregations gathering items from the entire South Central part of the State. I was overwhelmed. It took two vans to bring all the stuff to our tiny 700 square foot apartment. Cissy and I sorted and Her family and some students from the University took the Items to Africa. 

These pictures are some of the women who received the donated Items. These pictures were taken at the  hospital where Cissy worked.  The same hospital where Ugandan Mothers bring their wounded children due to wars, tortures and child fighting going on in Northern Uganda, Sudan and the Congo.The hospital where Cissy and other nurses and mothers would roll paper beads to make necklaces to sell to tourists to be able to pay for their children's care in the Hospital. 

HERE is the Link to an old post I did about the paper bead necklaces Cissy taught me to make. 

This picture touches my heart. I want to give this Mama all I have, yet I know she feels happy and blessed to have all she does. One of the Sisters from our Stake made this darling blanket.Pink and Blue not knowing if it would go to a girl or a boy.  

Clothes and Blankets-some of the things I  take for granted far too often. 

Some days lately it is hard to see Cissy around because her eyes get wet when she talks about me leaving, and her wet eyes make me want to cry and by- golly I'm going to be brave this time when I move.
I must get my fill of Cissy these next two weeks.  
She became my dear friend when I moved here and she fills my life with warmth and sunshine and smiles. (and believe me the first winter here I needed all three) We share the same love for God. We both believe Hevenly Father has placed us in eachother's path.

 She reminds me of Simplicity. She reminds me that Life is Precious and that I have MORE than enough. I went to bring a treat to Cissy one night and I ran over in the heavy rain. (it is way heavier here than we ever had in Utah) and I said, "These silly gutters they don't do anything but pour heavy puddles all over the place." Cissy's husband laughed at the Silly American thing I had just said. He then told me that in Uganda when it rains they stand beneath the gutter to catch the water with a bucket so they can have enough water to drink...

What a selfish girl I am. How very much more room I have to grow. Truly I have never looked at the pouring rain the same since. 

God Bless you Cissy-you are indeed a Ugandan Princess to me.