Freedom from Want

Freedom From Want  (also known as The Thanksgiving Picture or I’ll Be Home for Christmas) is the third of the Four Freedoms series of oil paintings by American artist Norman Rockwell. The works were inspired by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union Address, known as Four Freedoms.

The painting was created in November 1942 and published in the March 6, 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. All of the people in the picture were friends and family of Rockwell in Arlington, Vermont, who were photographed individually and painted into the scene.

This illustration t has become an iconic representation of the Thanksgiving holiday and family holiday gatherings in general.

My Alzheimer's fidget quilt was made from a fabric panel which featured four of Rockwell's most beloved paintings. I scored 2 of the small panels in a fabric donation bag and knew instantly they would make meaningful fidget mats to spark the memories of times gone by.

Whether our memories are ot the 1940s, 50s, 60s or yesterday, they are all the more precious when we realize we are beginning to lose our own.

I strive to create new memories with fun and family but cherish old ones with an aching awareness of just how fragile our memories are as we age.

One reason, I am still blogging (even without a desktop computer or Internt service) using only my phone is to keep my own brain active and continually remembering and learning new ways of doing challenging things.

As I approach 70, I am all the more aware of when I first noticed mental decline in my mom and how easy it became to substitute words or make excuses for things we no longer know, or know how to do.

Even quilting and sewing are harder with patterning changes in the mental circuitry for me now at this age. But then I've always winged anything and everything so the freedom of liberated and free form art or easy quilts or quilting are always my go-to creative textile favorites.

Let's just call my typos "liberated blogging " shall we? I read and reread and my eyes and brain still have the ability to see what it shpuld say not what I typed... 😂

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with most of my wonderful family, really great food, and much laughter and appreciation for each of my loved ones but special enjoyment of our grandchildren. Grateful for three little darlings and one more blessing to come.

Three dogs being chased by a little ones. One wrapping the smallest dog up in a blanket and the other borrowing his doggie/leash vest for himself and being the doggie as his little sister took him for a walk. We laughed SO hard!

Great fun and many gratitudes for everyone and the wonderful food and camaraderie. Family is everything always, but never more than during the holidays! Facing aging,  all ots health problems  or a major illness for one of your loved ones, or just being separated from loved ones during the holidays are all challenging.

I am reminded more and more just how truly precious time is, especially when we spend it with those we love most. I am grateful for  every single day with my loved ones.

"Freedom from Want" Think about all that you have in your own lives and allow gratitude to be a part of each and every day and not just during holi-days.

For every day is indeed a gift of time to be used well and spent doing or being all the things we love most.

Making Fidget Quilts: Free Tutorials and Ideas Updated 2019

Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands as she shares her imaginative, magical, and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon. Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting... from my heart and with my hands.