O'Quilts

Fish Scene

2012-02-12T17:20:00.002-05:00

I just finished quilting and binding this small wall hanging from the workshop two years ago with Laura Wasilowski. I was going to donate it to the Guild silent auction. For now, I put it on the door in my kitchen. Anyway, you know how I feel about the DONE thing...As I look at it now, I see how lovely the hand dyes are...how they give such depth. All of these pieces are cut free hand. She had ideas, but the pieces we made are our own. Makes me miss Miami a little bit.

More quilts for kids

2012-02-12T15:22:00.002-05:00

I am enjoying my "no think" phase and doing it without guilt! (Thank you Joy). This baby quilt was made from leftover 4 patches from 2 different baby quilts.

Below is one more cuddle quilt for an older boy. The Guild says that 3/4ths of quilts given to Guild for the hospital are for baby girls. Older children and most boys are left out.

After making my ironing pads the other day and finishing the above cuddle quilt during Sit and Sew yesterday, my mind was all about quilting the peaceful way. Well, all night long my brain was designing a clothes pin bag like my grandmother used in our home growing up. In my sleep, in my mind, I was using modern fabric and figuring out how to put in the hanger and the opening...all night long. When I woke up this morning I thought....what the heck was that. I have not dried my clothes outside for 20 some years. In fact, this neighborhood association does not even allow a clothesline...crazy...That brain of mine is off task!!

Ironing pads

2012-02-10T22:29:00.004-05:00

The dog got Eva's bear. I mended it best I could cause I know a bear is a well loved creature. She looks a bit rough, but a girl has to take care of herself..and this one will. While looking for extra stuffing for the arm, I found some ironing board material....hmmmm

So,in keeping with my mindless work nowadays (Joy says it is ok!)...I decided to make some Ironing pads.....While my mat is about 20 by 36, I had enough fabric left for four small mats...about 16 by 18 inches. I used the green ironing material with Insule-Brite and backed it with the funky IKEA fabric left over from the hotpads. When you look at funky...keep in mind that this fabric won first place in the Stockholm university student art contest. I put the ties on and the hangers on...and mindless became a task accomplished and a good day. I may consider donating one or two to our Guild's shop at our quilt show in March.

On one retreat, we ruined the ironing board cover. Ever since, Sherry has convinced me that these small mats put on the ironing board in a public place saves grace and..put next to the machine are very handy.

Me and the mindless thing

2012-02-07T20:11:00.002-05:00

I have not been able to figure out why I am not creating. Why am I pulling out old blocks left over from years back and making mindless baby quilts. I mean I have my Swedish flag quilt that I have been wanting to make and solids to use. I gave away my scrap bags so I could start all that, but the interest does not seem to be there. Yesterday I figured it out. With the past 7 months of my mother's decline. I am waiting, I think, for the other shoe to drop....not a good thing. My mind is there, not here.

Yesterday morning my mother called me with the help of her volunteer. Her volunteer is from Russia, a retired oncologist about 70 years old. She is visiting 4 mornings a week with my mother in order to learn English. My mother said that she is learning Russian..hmmm. It was a great call. Then at 3 in the afternoon, I visited my mother. Only to find her hanging out of the bed hallucinating out of her mind feeble as they come. What a shock! I insisted that the Hospice nurse take more urine for another test for a UTI, which she did. But she also said that it could be a stroke. I came home last night and made these...tranquilizing cupcakes:) I just needed sugar to calm me down. I wish my husband could understand this!!

Evidently my darling Milito felt a bit of stress as well...for I just turned my back for one tiny little minute and found this!

No shame at all...and this is not your bed Milito!

This morning I was about to leave to check on my mother when a toothache delayed me. An emergency 3 and a half hours at the dentist prepping for a crown on a cracked tooth was all I needed today. In the middle of it all, I got the call from the Hospice nurse saying indeed it was a UTI. When I got to my mother's place at one, she was in the dining room discussing the super bowl. It only took one dose of Cipro...Jeeze Louize...the roller coaster again. I am hanging on to the side rails, all belted in.

Doll Bed/ Google reader help needed..

2012-02-06T11:33:00.001-05:00

Mr. O'Quilts put together this doll bed from IKEA for Lynsey's third birthday on the 16th. A great opportunity for Lynsey and I to make a doll bed quilt together...Now, Tigger got confused...Whose birthday did you say???

Sooo frustrated with my Google Reader. Now it only lists my subscriptions with new posts. I want it the old way with all my subscriptions whether or not new posts. Also, I want to be able to click on "like" when I like a post....but that is gone too.. Any reader "wise" friends out there to help me..suggestions?

Today

2012-02-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

Today I delivered daffodils from my garden to my mother. She is upset that her memory is not like it used to be. I said, let's be grateful that you are alive.

The "Jungle" quilt below is finished. What started out as quite a misstep ended up to be a good thing. I used this quilt to practice my free motion quilting. For the first time ever, I quilted a large meandering motif without any loops on the back. I set my tension to 4 and put my dials all down to zero, slowed down and took my time. It was finished in 30 minutes and I am delighted with myself. Now that I have played with the fabric, I will give what is left (lots) to my friends or Guild. (like my sister wanted in the first place!)

I finished this quilt too. The left over scraps are from my Purplish Trip Around the World

Now I have two baby quilts in the cupboard for future needs.

Caffeine

2012-02-04T21:44:00.001-05:00

When Grandma wasn't looking!

The last thing we need is a two year old on caffeine!

The "Jungle" Top

2012-02-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

Well last night about 10 pm, it was over...my quilting life had hit a snag and I was no longer creative..I had aged out. (Says my man...do you always have to be so dramatic??) I decided to work on that cuddle, jungle quilt from earlier on..just to relax. Well after the blocks were together, I started the borders. Now I do not like to use my good fabric. I know that the New Year was to bring a change in that...but it is still hard. I cut some borders from the fabrics below..my good fabrics..and they did not work. Cutting good, favorites and they do not work????.. Irritability was upon me. It was now 11pm.

I could not make this work. This "relaxing" nothing quilt. At midnight I gave up and got into bed in a huff. My husband said that it was a shame that I didn't have a passion that I could really enjoy instead of getting pissy. Like, he makes mistakes in his tennis tournaments and in his woodworking and he doesn't act like this..OMG..to have that kind of easy going disposition.... In the morning light, I realized that there was not enough neutral space for the eye to rest and when I added 2 and a half more inches of the green to the top and bottom, it was better. Then Kaffe to the rescue with his awesome stripes and it was done by noon. Sigh....

Not brilliant, but done and presentable and certainly not worth getting crabby about...unless of course a person happens to be that kind.....

The Jungle Theme

2012-02-03T15:40:00.002-05:00

My sister gave me this fabric...lots of it. Rather, she gave it to the Guild via me and I couldn't/wouldn't part with it.

See, I do not have enough fabric. I needed this one too!

I have been without creativity since the workshop yesterday. I have ennui....Then my friend Nancy sent me this video to remind me how really boring things are here in Charlotte...NO I do not like drama...well....

Wild Gorilla Encounter Video

So, here I go..as wild as I can get lately! Just a little process here....

My Bottle Tree

2012-02-02T19:57:00.000-05:00

Lucky me went to a Guild workshop today with Sandra Smith. We had a great time with a lovely lady. I learned the technique, had some great laughs with friends and relaxed....As for the picture quilting, all I could come up with was a beginning fabric picture of my backyard bottle tree!

I think that Sandra has a lot more patience than I do. As fun as the workshop was, I probably will not be making a big quilt like this in the near future.

February block of month for Guild breast cancer quilts

2012-01-30T15:25:00.003-05:00

The flower quilts are going to look wonderful when they are done. We are in month 7, but my month 1 is lost(:. This is my February one.

In keeping with hoarding, the pale pink scottie background fabric is from Japan about 25 years ago..gotta use it sometime..

And you notice that I am still functioning without my scraps.

ps Emily....I rode the exercise bike 15 minutes today and drank 2 glasses of water...yo ma is NO slouch!

Vintage Grandmother's Flower Garden top

2012-01-30T11:23:00.006-05:00

I taught myself to quilt in 1971 from the Foxfire book. At the time I was living in LA and thought I was cool and awesome making a quilt. I took 12 and a half inch squares and tied them with yellow yarn...no basting needed. My son has that quilt on his bed now. It is big and puffy. I thought that puffy was the in thing in quilting until I met Lillian Barkley of Glendale, Arizona. Lillian was my Great Aunt Billie's best friend. When Aunt Billie heard that I was crazy over quilts, she arranged a meeting with Ms. Lillian to see her quilts. I was taken back. Ms. Lillian's quilts were flat and crinkly and cotton, not polyester. There were small pieces and she had done it all by hand. I was amazed. Ms. Lillian took a liking to me and gave me this top only partially pieced and made me promise to finish it. Oh, sure said I....no problem. I was delighted. Well....hmm.....According to my calendar, 1972 is 40 years ago. Hello Lillian, long gone...I am still here. I thought that I was a purist. But, I guess I am not. I have loved this and looked at it for all these years wanting to finish it in the same style as she would have wanted. Now, I think she might be ok with...done...you know? So as I looked at it yesterday for the millionth time, I noticed climate stains and frail seams. I took my rotary and wacked off the borders and added some Kona green. I have a pale yellow backing and I am hoping against hope to have it longarmed. I think Done is better than rotting. And, since I am the only one left alive to know the history, I think that I had better be able to enjoy it now. So Ms Lillian and Diane present:

Great Aunt Billie was born in Oklahoma and married my great Uncle Bert. He was my grandfather's brother...one of 11 siblings...the only two to have immigrated from Goteborg, Sweden. Uncle Bert was a business man and my grandfather Carl Franzen was a gardener and a dreamer. He was 17 years older than Grandma having taught himself to read the classics in Latin and Greek as he rode the rails as a hobo. My mother, an only child got the literature and the dreamer part from him.

Happy Valentine's Day once again

2012-01-29T18:25:00.001-05:00

My husband was in the garage while I was doing the Sunday nap thing. He just came in and asked...Is it Valentine's day soon? I said..February...Close enough he said..."Happy Valentine's Day". Then he gave me this. He had been working on it in the garage instead of doing the Sunday nap. Did I tell you that I have myself one great man!!!!! Now, I have myself one great seam ripper!

Sew much fun!

2012-01-28T23:31:00.000-05:00

For my whimsical friends:).... I even named the mug rugs/ potholders.....Thank you IKEA for the fun and funky fabric. These have been lined with Insule-brite and ready to be put to work.

Irish Girl..I gifted this one tonight . I told him that it was because he has an eye for the women.ha ha..I love to stir the pot!! It is perfect for his new kitchens.

Little Boy Blue

Himself

The O'Quilt family cat, Milito, the boss

2012-01-28T14:37:00.002-05:00

My husband does not like cats. But, he likes me. So for 31 years we have had cats. He comes from the country in Ireland so he thinks animals should live outside. I grew up in Arizona where animals were inside as part of the family. Here is my Milito. My husband does not like my Milito (although I notice that he feeds him every morning before work:) Milito has a very high IQ for an old cat of 14 years.

Yesterday my husband made homemade bread...two kinds...sooo yummy.

Last night my Milito got some nighttime cravings....

Let me tell you that this did NOT bode well for family relations.

O'Quilt updates

2012-01-27T18:15:00.004-05:00

I spent all day long today in a continuing education workshop for my business..The morning speaker was fine, but the afternoon was so draggy....My husband had met me for lunch at Pio Pio...he is a gooooood man!! I now have 6 more CEU's and I both started and finished an entire scarf sitting there. Sitting is not my thing.

Yesterday I decided that the lamp I had made years ago from a whatever bought at an antique store in the country for $2...needed a new lampshade. The old one was clip on and only took old fashioned light bulbs..scarce lately. So World Market to the rescue. I love the lamp even more so now.

Wednesday night at my Irish quilting group, I gave away all my scraps. When they were bundled in give-away packages, I was fine. I need the motivation to get to my "good stuff" before I die. But as the scraps were on the table being dispersed...grabbed...collected...my heart stopped. I had all I could do not to change my mind!

Now I am OK...having shared the booty...because a new scrap bag has been started already...

My mother: Wednesday she went to her poetry group in house. She had fun but was tired. Thursday she went on the bus to lunch bunch. When she got home, she said that she was more tired than she had ever been in her life and she was not doing that again because she now knows it is too much for her. This morning she had her hair done. This afternoon when my husband stopped by to visit after tennis, he couldn't find her. Then the activity bus pulled up. Out came my mother exhausted. She had gone to a ceramics studio outing and made two bowls.......She said that they had wanted her to rest instead, but she decided that she could either stay in the bed and wait for the end, or push herself. Mother!!! U wear me out..but I am grateful

Vintage Broken Dishes spare blocks morph into Pinwheels

2012-01-24T15:23:00.001-05:00

Vintage Broken Dishes top finished

2012-01-23T21:36:00.001-05:00

I think that the necessity of the past gives a great freedom for the present. There were no quilt police back then for these kinds of quilts. These blocks were so odd sized, cut on the biased with points not matching, several blocks having a "poverty patch" or two or three and yet together it is just fine. It makes a pleasant visual statement and my guess will make a comforting quilt. I do not know the name of the odd block. Do you? This quilt top reminds me of that saying, "Value does the work but color gets the credit".

There were 15 blocks in the set. These last three were so out there in size that I decided to leave them out of the main quilt. Since doing what with three blocks?? I took them apart and now have 12. I had to really starch them to be able to use them. It is so freeing to be able to quilt in whatever way that is pleasing. I do think that the old timey way has come back. In my earlier years of quilting, things had to be more exact. Even two years ago, I put a quilt in the show where I did wonky channel stitching on purpose for the design. The judges remarks were to watch my stitching.

These are another example of generational quilting. The fabrics and the piecing..different. I love it.

Vintage blocks and Gratitude

2012-01-23T00:11:00.001-05:00

I do not relax well, like to keep on going. When I get annoyed with daily pain that interferes, I try to remember my gratitude. Today, I just accepted life as it is. I relaxed. I forgot the "shoulds". I made two quilt tops for the hospital and then I pulled out these vintage blocks that I bought at Guild a few months back.

I love all quilting, modern and traditional. I can cut up an old orphan block of my own with modern fabric and make something new. One thing I cannot do. I cannot take old quilt blocks and cut them it up with modern fabric. The lady making the old quilt still talks to me. I want to preserve as much as I can of her work. Not that I do not take liberties..I do. In the quilt to be above, all the blocks are different sizes. Some are hand pieced and some are machine pieced. They are at times as much as 1 and a half inches off. Since I cannot make it fit, I can make it work. Which is what I plan to do. . Speaking of gratitude........this evening...my man and a warm fire. I am the luckiest.

My mother's Kindle

2012-01-21T23:32:00.001-05:00

My husband bought my mother this Kindle for her 90th birthday. She had wanted it soooo badly. He put her own poetry on it and books of poetry that she loved. She delighted in it. In July, when she was hospitalized the first time, she took the Kindle with her to the hospital. Recuperating from her double pneumonia and infected gallbladder, she read her Kindle. After her other episodes she forgot how to use it. Now she has remembered, but is too tired to use it.

Guess who is enjoying it now??? Thanks to Bonnie Hunter, I now have three free novels on the Kindle. It is just wonderful. I told my mother that when she wants it back, I will give it willingly, but I lied!

The generational quilt....done

2012-01-21T23:23:00.000-05:00

My husband stood in the rain today to get this finished photo. From bad came good as it often does. If my mother had not been sick, I would not have finished this quilt...I know it. I was avoiding the free motion quilting because I am not very good at it. But because I had decided to just do the hard stuff, the more I quilted, the easier it became. In no time, what had sat for years was finished. I am delighted.

The path of this quilt started between 25 to 30 years ago when I copied this pattern from a paper and mailed from Miami to Phoenix the blocks with the cats drawn in pencil. My grandmother, in her 90's, immediately called and said that her eyes were not good enough to do this. But she was a worker and in 2 weeks time I had them back done. The blocks then sat for at least 10 years while my mind worked on the next step. ( my mind was slow even then!!) I needed to get a fabric that complimented the cats without overwhelming them. I found it in Hobby Lobby. Without even having these blocks on my mind, I saw this fabric in green and red and it all came to me. Then to every workshop and boring lecture I attended for CEU's, I appliqued baskets. The blocks had to ferment again. I had to decide on the placement. Two years ago I set it this way. Last year my group basted it with me and I quilted the lattice, borders and did the binding. And it sat again...because of the free motion quilting. Enter my mother and the saga well documented in this blog!!!! And in two days it was done. Sigh! Thank you Mother, thank you Grandma....This is truly a generational quilt!

Road Trip

2012-01-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I decided that the lull in our family crises was really a window of opportunity. So I went with my small quilting group on a road trip. Seven of us in my van, laughing and having fun. ...a true respite. Heath Springs, South Carolina is country. .. country with Southern hospitality. We were told that if we had called in advance, she would have made us lunch! As it was, she brought cheese and crackers, coffee and soda and cake to help us shop. This beautiful old house holds many treasures including fabric for $6 a yard, fat quarters for $1.50 and vintage linens for a very reasonable price. Although I have decided that this year I am not spending more than $5 a yard, at the White House I broke my pledge. The hospitality here was so wondeful that I spent the $6 gladly.

Civil war fabrics to complement my stash.

Some Happy Camper to brighten my day.

Misc pretties..

Fabric treats for my sister who had to work and needed some cheer.

Although I have plenty of linens from my grandmother, I could not resist this runner with two kittens for $5.

Quilters know what the good life is!

I am a Gandhi wannabee

2012-01-18T17:17:00.001-05:00

Gandhi said something like...I want my windows open to all ideas, but my house not blown down by any of them..something like that. Staying steady in the storm.

Well...today my mother is sitting in her wheelchair clear as a bell. No more C.Diff, urinary tract infection, dementia....for now...everything is for now. She does not remember seeing the man behind the curtain or talking to the zoo animals. She does not remember falling out of bed on her way back home to the very bed she fell out of. She does not remember saying naughty words...she is forever the lady.. for now. The assisted living where she lives, is well through its second week of state quarantine due to Norvo virus. My mother did not get it..yet..knock on wood, stay tuned. I wish I did not keep going on the same roller coaster ride that she rides on. It is quite exhausting.

Mother says that when the quarantine is over and the weather is nicer, she is going back out to lunch bunch with her friends and to her poetry group.

RUNNING

Death whispers in my ear,

"Over here, over here."

His smile beguiles me,

"Over here, over here."

I will run; so will he.

We race against reality.

From Daydreams by Alice Franzen Clemons Burt

And, so I sew.....

2012-01-15T19:53:00.000-05:00

"And so, I sew! Back and forth...little, then big and big, then little. No room for sadness, or loss, just vibrant remembrance when the heart is full and the hands stay busy." This quote from Michelle got me going tonight. Not so unlike women of the past, we women of the present sew to stay sane, to remember, to spread joy and to create. My mother has a urinary tract infection which has sent her around the bend. She picks at the air and talks to the circus animals who are not there. Last night she fell out of bed thinking that she needed to get out and walk home. I cannot believe what a UTI can do. I am horrified, terrified and amazed at life and the human spirit. So helpless, I look to exactly what Michelle is saying. I just dug out this UFO. With a need for comfort and connection to the past as it was, I am going to finish this. The cats were embroidered by my grandmother 25 years ago, in her 90's, probably the age my mother is now. She worked them when her eyes could no longer see the difference between blue and green. She didnt give up on life and work, she did it anyway, even though it was hard. I am trying to be that way too, not to break the circle of strong women in my life.

I must say that this new turn of events with my mother's mind has me shaken.

MY FRIEND IN THE WIND

When you were lucid

Lapses grew longer

Slowly you became a

feather,

a feather

in the wind

from Daydreams, by Alice Franzen Clemons Burt

Chocolate Marshmellow cookies make the world brighter on a rainy day

2012-01-12T08:30:00.002-05:00

During the holidays, I found this awesome recipe from Kami. I think I will make it again today for my New Year's resolution delight:). I cannot tell you how wonderful it is and how easy to make. Click on the link for the recipe...gotta keep up the holiday spirit!!! None of those January blues allowed!

Convergence cuddle quilt finished

2012-01-10T21:15:00.002-05:00

The goals of today have been met. I have done nothing but self care all day long. I slept in, then had a great talk with my daughter in Galway via Skype. Did some window shopping on Fabric.com, had a nice lunch and sewed...ok, maybe some laundry. Then I had a nice visit from my son. Since my husband is playing tennis, I decided to finish this cuddle quilt. I am very happy that I tried this pattern. I think it is a bit on the strange side...maybe it would be lovely in solids like shot cottons with fancy quilting....but it is done and done with stash and February cuddle donation is finished. As I view this post, I see that it looks better posted, or at a distance, than close up...

I used up some old fashioned fluffy batting purchased at a garage sale. It brought me back to yesterday:)

As always, done is a wonderful word.

Convergence Quilting...and more....to calm the nerves..

2012-01-09T22:41:00.001-05:00

I am so darn irritable. I decided to google "end stage Parkinson's disease". I do not know if that was good or not...but in the stage 5 part..I found my mother...my new mother that is. Agitation, anxiety, with worse to come..dear me. Googling did NOT help my disposition so I decided to start a quilting project for someone else. A donation baby quilt. I found a clipping with directions for a baby quilt a la Ricky Tims Convergence quilt. Donna had given it to me years ago...so lets go Diane...stop obsessing about tomorrow. Here is process for today..or tonight.....

And here is....vino tinto:)

Happy Monday

2012-01-09T14:03:00.002-05:00

I just went to see my mother. I was there for 5 minutes when staff came in to tell me to leave. The entire Sunrise facility is under state quarantine for at least 48 hours due to a stomach flu. Good Lord.

Kaleidoscope Done!!

2012-01-08T16:48:00.002-05:00

I know that all of you thought this was way finished....but really, it was a UFO...but no longer:) Thanks to my sit and sew yesterday...the impetus to start anew...and here today it is finished...labeled, snipped, photoed and in the wash...eeeekkkk joy! I named this quilt "Grey", as in not black and white...trying hard to stay in the day and see things that way. The chix broth is cooling ready for the fridge and tomorrow's skimming.

As Taryn says, one foot in front of the other. Thank you Taryn. I am please so far with the way today is going. It is too cold to read outside, so I guess I will just continue cleaning my sewing room and of course move all the bags out of the office for tomorrow will be coming soon.

Grandma, oh Grandma..I need you again today....

2012-01-08T12:55:00.001-05:00

This morning I was reading Susan Branch's blogpost and tears filled my eyes. It hit so close to home. I knew just what to do...make chicken soup. Doing something about something when you really cannot do anything about what you really want to do....like fix my mother...etc. Grandma was a professional cook long before I knew her. Growing up with her in our home, we all benefited from her talents. Grandma could do anything...and true, she was my dearest of friends. At times growing up, she was my only friend. At my age now, I realize that under stress, she cooked...as I quilt..she cooked and sewed. So Grandma, you live in my heart and I need you now.

Grandma, did you know that Mom tried to climb out of her bed last night. She denied it, but the staff said that she did. My mother said that she woke up in the wrong bed and it was so frightening. The staff said that if she looked around she would see her cat and the cat food and her window with the birds and squirrels and she would realize that indeed it was her own bed. Mother was surprised. Grandma, did you know that I bought online for $25, 3 wheelchair cups for her chair...one for the phone and one for her drink and one to save. And then the other day, she took her hammer and hammered them off because she thought that they were in the way. Her strength is weaker and she can no longer maneuver her wheelchair well...so she thought it was the cups that were in the way. Mom thinks that this is completely normal thought process and that it is me who does not understand. Now she is in bed again with diarrhea . And Alexis has been sick for 5 weeks with C Diff too. I had never heard of that before..but I guarantee that I will never forget it. Anyway, Grandma, you taught me to carry on and so I will try not to be overwhelmed by this new, surprising turn of events. I am going to finish a UFO and sit in the yard and read. And, when the chicken soup is ready, I will take it to my mother. I am so grateful that she lives 15 minutes away. xxoo

My Christmas basket

2012-01-07T23:14:00.001-05:00

Marie gave me this lovely snowman basket for Christmas. Unfortunately, just before the gift giving, I had told her that I hoped no one gave me any more snowmen presents for Christmas because my snowman collection was overwhelming and I was simplifying it. Hmmmm, too late for this present.. But, I loved the basket. So I decided to decoupage it. Then Sherry gave me another idea that I finished in an hour...She said, "how about the potluck bowl cover ?"!!! That way it can be changed out whenever you want...Genius Sherry!

So, I did it!! I made a bigger circle to fit the top and voila!

At our sit and sew today, it made a wonderful bread basket.

The midnight creation

2012-01-06T00:27:00.001-05:00

I took a nap today..a crazy luxury at 3pm. Just crawled into bed with my Milito and slept till 5. Well that was the end of my early to bed night. Here I am cleaning my quilting room at midnight. Since cleaning is not much fun, I hit on the idea of a small ironing stool. Below is an old stool of my mothers.

I put the stool upside down on the Insule-brite, traced the circle and taped it to the stool.

I found in my gifting drawer a potluck bowl cover which perfectly fit right over the Insule-brite.

Just so clever at midnight!

Back to the cleaning...just move everything into the office..ha ha..Monday is a while away:)

The frugal mister.....

2012-01-06T00:18:00.000-05:00

When we moved to Charlotte from Miami 17 years ago, new warm clothes shopping was in order. I found for my husband this flannel work shirt for $5 at a Dillard's sale. For some reason, he really took to the shirt and wore it almost every time he worked in the yard. It became a joke...I would say..."sure like your shirt".,.the same shirt all the time!!..This shirt lasted 17 years. In November he brought it to me to repair with this rip down the back. I just couldn't fix it. It was certainly the best $5 I ever spent. I picked out a replacement for him from his closet and pondered the beloved shirt.

Here it resurfaces in his Christmas present...a mug rug for his tea:)

A five dollar shirt for a million dollar man:)

Love is never late..Thank you Honey..xxoo

2012-01-05T17:46:00.001-05:00

My girl is the best!! I should say..".Oh, you shouldn't have done it!!" That is what mothers say. But, oh how this present made me happy today:) Thank you Honey with all my heart!!!

Homemade with love...a hexie tree:)

And for Daddy, a calendar right from his hometown...!!! Perfect..

Thank you Thank you Thank you

xxoo xxoo xxoo

Red,white and black animal quilt..born in the USA!

2012-01-05T17:37:00.000-05:00

It is always nice to have a few quilts tucked away in the proverbial closet for the perfect gift. I have always liked this quilt but there are few in America now who do not know the sex of the baby before it is born. Today this quilt found its perfect home:)

The New Year's Day

2012-01-01T19:31:00.004-05:00

Trying to relax today and start the New Year right when my dearest Mr.O'Quilts decided to take down the tree, etc. HE was taking down the tree so why did I get crabby?? And he was putting the ornaments right where I was putting the things I was doing.........Then he handed me the angels. The big one was the angel on the tree for my first Christmas when I was a baby. I mean a real baby!...not the baby I am now(:. It was my reminder that someone thought I was an angel once upon a time...ha ha...It is going to be a good year after all:)

Goodbye 2011 and Hello Happy New Year

2011-12-31T23:23:00.002-05:00

For you, maybe this saying is a bit trite, but for me, it says it all...Some green tea with local honey and a message I could wear on my forehead..my hope for me for the New Year.

I decided that in saying goodbye to the old year, I should be saying goodbye to some old blocks. So after our foray out to our annual Mexican food New Year's dinner, I scrounged around for some UFO's. It was not hard to find these, that is for sure. All in pieces, several years old, were these Ohio Star blocks. I hurried to make them at least into recognizable blocks. Delighted with myself, I counted them....19...Hello...is this my old year or what???

So I decided to be creative and whipped up this 20th block..yup..this is me..new and old..

I put them away and had more plans for myself this old evening. I then took out some red blocks...when low and behold what do I see, but a red Ohio Star staring at me:)

Old and new,my favorite way to work is like in Rayna's book. I always thought I was making strips into "new" fabric...Rayna has coined the phrase, "therapy sewing" and that is the truth. Today I enjoyed this book in a spirt of "self care", sitting in the 60 degree weather on my cool and awesome deck. Heaven!

Now, this New Year's post would not be complete without a review of the highlight of this past year... my mother's wake. It was fun and scary and sad and joyous. Visiting with family and friends and my mother...we had the best time. And the joy of it all is that my mother "missed the train", in her words, and skipped the funeral. Today when I visited, she was sitting in her wheelchair with her hair newly done, enjoying her 90 year old life. The lesson I learned and learn again and again is that I am not God. My mother learned it too....and I know that the doctor who gave her 48 hours to one week to live has also learned that lesson. A liberating lesson if I do say so myself. Happy New Year!

January cuddle quilt done

2011-12-27T15:38:00.001-05:00

This donation quilt is such an easy scrap sew. The original one on Moda Bake Shop was for one solid charm square sewn to half a layer cake. I have an entire drawer of 3" strips that I routinely cut from scraps. I cut 6 inches from these and then added 3" squares of a random blue solid I had. Then I chain sewed them together.

Mollie always has to steal the show!

I wanted to use a darker thread for the channel quilting here, but decided instead to use up a thread I had bought on sale. I must learn that every time I buy a thread other than Aurefil, it is a mistake. Look at this thread..says 50 count but it is thicker and look at the amount of thread on it...I mean, really...the size of the cardboard middle gives the illusion that there is more thread there than there is...ugh...See the inner cardboard I have marked with green marker..ugh again.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

The cycle of life...and being positive...

2011-12-21T12:23:00.001-05:00

My mother is sick again! Please tell me how modern medicine cannot cure C Diff. This is the 4th bout of it she has had in two months. The minute that the two week course of meds is over, bam...back it comes. How long can a 90 year old last with this??? Grrr..I feel so helpless. So, on this rainy day, I decided to get out my grandmother's 100 year old cast iron pot and make a pot roast. The look and and smell has lifted my spirits as I feel the essence of my grandmother here and realize that my mother at 90 is becoming part of that cycle of life. My grandmother is here to help me now...a blessing today.

Needle books for Christmas...

2011-12-20T23:47:00.001-05:00

From Rosey Corner Creations comes an awesome needle book tutorial. It was fun and easy enough to make for my two quilting groups for Christmas...Lots of gluing...but fun and relaxing and adorable.

De-stressing....or sometimes called quilting....

2011-12-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

All my holiday presents are done. I had planned to do baking tonight, but stress is upon me again. Much like age, stress creeps up. Therefore I decided to make January's cuddle quilt...de-stressing....wish it was de-aging too:)

Scrap busting..so relaxing until I realized that I had made a mistake on 10 blocks..watching sappy channel 23 movies. I had not realized that a person could make a mistake on this kind of quilt. I was wrong. It is now undone and corrected and peace is here again.

I will bake between clients tomorrow. Nice to have a home office.

Small gifts of love

2011-12-18T22:49:00.001-05:00

A scissor holder for my birthday handmade from my friend Sherry. I love the fabric. I love the button. I love the feeling. Thank you Sherry!

Block of the month for the Guild breast cancer donation quilts. Thank you Karen for giving us a choice this month.

For Barbara who had surgery...a gift of love for cuddling! From the Heart quilt department at Guild.

Small gifts with great love.

The birthday bowls

2011-12-17T10:53:00.001-05:00

My husband has been working in the garage on his lathe forever. Every night after work he has been out there listening to his classical music and woodworking away. He said that he was relaxing and creating which I certainly understand. Today is my birthday. This is what I found all wrapped nicely on the table when I got up. From Poplar and Red Oak, my man made me this beautiful set of wooden bowls. He said he had thought of Tiffany's but decided on bowls instead. Much better...Thank you honey..you are the best. I love my birthday bowls and I love my man:)

Happy Birthday Isabella

2011-12-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

Isabella turns one soon. Here is the dolly quilt that I made her. Happy Birthday Isabella!

Pet food bags

2011-12-16T18:32:00.001-05:00

I had no idea how popular these bags would be...They are really sturdy...Yesterday I took my poor old Milito for shots and had one for the vet for a Christmas present...Lordy, was he over the moon with it. I can understand the vet...but...others? Well, I do get attention when I go into Aldi's with these bags for carry out.

First, I take the bags outside, squirt dish washing soap inside and wash out with a brush. I turn them upside down to dry. Then I smooth them on the rotary cutter board and slice 2.5 inches twice for the handles. I try to position the animal in a good spot. Then proceed like any bag without lining, using a zigzag stitch most places for strength. When finished, I usually wipe the bags again inside with the sanitizing wipes. The bags that are lined with paper are not good for this project.

Love is all there is so I just have to share:)

2011-12-11T19:32:00.000-05:00

Oh, It makes my heart sing.....

2011-12-09T14:44:00.001-05:00

Perfect condition 49 patch...about 100 years old. I cannot believe my find. A checkerboard. I wonder if there is any significance in "49" patch.

Happy Birthday to me!

Lets see now...the master of spin called her old mother from the antique store. Mom has been sick again and all of us are depressed. I reminded her that it was my birthday next week...her beloved eldest child:) Oh, dear I have nothing for you, said my mother. Well...I just happened to be in an antique store right now buying your present to me. Oh, thank you says my mother, that makes me sooo happy. Second spin...:) to my husband...well of course we know that dear old Mom has no money...all of it having gone to Sunrise Assisted Living for her Parkinson's care for the past nine years. So I told my dear old husband of my joyful find at the antique store and how it makes my mother sooo very happy.( not to mention make my own heart sing.) So much for the family budget! And so much for simplifying.. Sigh....I had been wanting to make a blue and pink with reproduction fabrics....but now...I am overjoyed with this one. I think of the lady who made it 100 years ago and did all that hand piecing and hand quilting. I want her to know that it is no longer stuffed on the bottom shelf of a stuffy store. It is now being loved and appreciated by another woman who knows what it is like to put time, work and love into a quilt to spread joy to others.

Bag and a half tells a story

2011-12-06T23:02:00.004-05:00

My mind is always thinking...never ever still...it thinks when I am awake and it thinks when I am asleep. The latest thoughts are about my cluttered house and who wants my things when I die. Who would appreciate every little detail of memories that I have of my life...well the answer is no one...of course. So I decided to start using some of these things I find around. I just finished making a bag and a half with some things I have memories of...First of all the fuzzy navy-ish fabric from Andy's house/garage sale. Then the cool batik flannel I found today at Hancock's 50% off sale, the red stripe trim from a shirt I had bought in Guatemala years ago...a patch I found from my son's jeans. Those horrid jeans that hung way below his bottom and looked way too big for him. One holiday he bought some with his money and they were way expensive and very ugly. Me, the saver, saved the pocket. Here it is now on my new bag and a half!!

I know that these pictures do not do this bag justice. But I was just so excited to finish it tonight that I took inside at night pictures. Below is the bag and a half that I have been using forever. I love it, it carries everything. The Bag and a Half was introduced to us by Patti Bethune right here in Charlotte, North Carolina. She tells me that it is a twist on an old bag used to carry quilts for hand quilting. Her kids loved them at college to carry their laundry...so many uses for this wonderful bag.

Pain management

2011-12-06T12:57:00.002-05:00

3 Naproxen and 14 pretty zippers from Hancock's 50% off sale = feeling good!!

Merry Christmas Mom.....

2011-12-05T22:49:00.000-05:00

My mother's annual Christmas party. Age 90, still alive. She actually wrote her holiday poem. I was worried, but she pushed herself and dictated it to others and voila! Love you Mom and I am proud.

Festival

Here we are sharing the gift of life

A festival of family and friends

Celebrating existence.

We look at each other

and our hearts are glad

Glad for that little flicker

that ignites our spiritual selves.

We are here together

Rejoicing in the fact that we live.

It behooves each of us

To have a secret mission,

A purpose.

With hope, we make the world better

With hearts full of joy

We wish you a Happy Holiday

Merry Christmas

alice burt

25 December 2011

Charlotte's Modern Quilt Guild

2011-12-04T17:27:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful time the other night at the Modern Quilt holiday party.http://charlottemodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/ Madam President Jennifer, has started this great group, plans out wonderful things for us...and still stays beautiful and classy...Oh, and did I mention that she was super nice too? Thank you Jennifer for all you do. So visit her blog, Ellison Lane and enjoy her style.

The gift of a comfort pillow

2011-12-02T22:53:00.000-05:00

These pillows are perfect quick gifts. I give them to folks who are sick, in the hospital, are traveling or in wheelchairs. They use them to put on their laps for a food tray, or to tuck behind their neck, etc. My mother has many of them. She uses them to prop herself when the Parkinson's makes her lean to one side too much or to use between her knees at night. I get them at Bed, Bath and Beyond for about $3.99 each. It is such a perfect size and quality that I do not bother making them. Sometimes there is a coupon for 20% off the entire purchase and not just one item...I go then for a few to keep on hand.

A very, very quick sew...5 minutes, in a cute fabric has made this pillow cover for one of my mother's friends who just had a birthday.

Adult bibs for my mother.

2011-12-02T20:11:00.001-05:00

Stage 4 Parkinson's disease is not nice. My mother has been very lucky that her tremor and weakness so far has been on her left side. With disease progression, it is now on her right side too. This interferes with her writing and with her eating. So she spills, she spills a lot...not all the time but with the "stop and go" of Parkinson's, she spills enough that I made her bibs. Fun bibs...cause even at 90, a girl just wants to have fun!

They are two sided. I googled "adult bib patterns" and found the basic one here. I then rounded it out for a size that was good...

Hourglass in green..DONE!

2011-11-30T12:07:00.000-05:00

Thank you Mollie!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T22:49:00.000-05:00

Traditions...the pig with olives on toothpicks from Great-grandma..a must...long after no one eats olives any more:)

My nephew, Barry's birthday cake. We used to tease him when he was young that he was the turkey on Thanksgiving...poor Barry...now at 28 we cannot let it go...his favorite cake and his favorite candy..tradition!

Family carrying on the tradition...my two wonderful children.

Generations in the kitchen carrying on..Lynsey helping Aunt Emily make her apple pie from scratch.

Lynsey helping her daddy make the mashed potatoes, quality control.

Family and gratitude.

Purplish Trip Around the World...finished

2011-11-28T13:36:00.000-05:00

This is my second Trip Around the World quilt. The colors do not show the vibrancy..too bad it is a cloudy day. My first Trip quilt is posted here.

The Flannel Story.....

2011-11-26T23:46:00.001-05:00

Black Friday came and my daughter and I decided to go ahead and do it...get up at 5 and go to JoAnn's Fabric Store for the big flannel bargain of $1.47 a yard. Five o'clock came and I heard nothing from my daughter and I heard nothing from myself...so sleep kept coming. We said that it was not worth the hassle and had a great day. Then evening came and I was a bit stir crazy or maybe just plain crazy...wanted an adventure...get out of the house you know. So I persuaded my man to take me to JoAnn's. It was 8pm. I thought things might all be gone, but what the heck..adventure. Emily got her man to go too and we met up there. NO ONE was in the store..only employees and the racks were absolutely full of flannel all for that wonderful price. Emily and I gathered up our loot and carried it to the cutting tables. The women had no other customers so they were enjoying our flannels. They would say things like.."Oh, I never saw that one...or how adorable"..and they would feel it and love it and then cut it. The pig fabric I had to share with the worker because she loved it so. Mr.Two Red Wellies was talking to Mr.O'Quilts and observing that in any respectable hardware store, one would be hard pressed to hear the worker say something like," Oh, wow...that hammer...I just love that, can I feel it? Or, those nails are just awesome, etc!" I just love quilters:)

And, I just love that price of $1.47 a yard in Charlotte's brand new JoAnn's Fabric store. And I just love that

I do not have to pay the now price of $6.99 or $5.99....Yeah for adventure.

Holiday thoughts from Mary Couch

2011-11-24T10:54:00.020-05:00

http://crookedgulleyartquilts.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-2011-birth-of-new-tradition.html

I found this post from Mary at the above blog. She said that I could re-post it here. Food for thought on the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving.

I received this as an email from a good friend, and thought, "This is the perfect post for the blog.

If you would like a copy of this article to put on your blog

or email to friends just leave a comment

and I'll make sure you get it!

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking
into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of
cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been
produced at the expense of American labor. This
year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift
of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an
excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is
produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift
needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced
wrapping paper?

Everyone--yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about
gift certificates from your local American hair salon
or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are
thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small,
American owned detail shops and car washes would love to
sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of
plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen?
Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway
sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed
all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift
certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort,
what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.
Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is
about supporting your home town Americans with their
financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car,
truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American
working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE
the services local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find
some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business
up and running.
OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local
crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves.
They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants
and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to
see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local
bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten
thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five
dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community.
If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman,
trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American
pockets so that China can build another glittering city.
Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging
American small businesses to keep plugging away to
follow their dreams.

And, when we care about other Americans, we care about
our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways
we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to
discussion groups--throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants
and Raves section in your city -- send it to the editor of your
local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments.


This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that
what Christmas is about?

Wordless Wednesday...not!!

2011-11-23T16:53:00.000-05:00

I see folks posting "Wordless Wednesday", etc. That word is not in my vocabulary:) Here is the next mug rug/ trivet/potholder made with Insul-brite...Gave Emily's B the other one for Christmas!

2011-11-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

OMG, who said that the lessons should start so early..my precious machine....and my precious grandchildren...in the same room??

The visitor who refuses identification, who hates cats and loves children's books..My Milito only knows that this is my chair:)

Experiment in color and light..love the fall leaves.

Happy fall...by the front door. Great-grandma's birds a-watching.

Good Irish training has my wood all stacked perfectly on the porch by the Camilla bush. Thank you honey.

Guild holiday donations...Done!

2011-11-20T22:48:00.000-05:00

This month's BOM for breast cancer is another paper pieced house. hmmm That is not for me. So I decided to make a wonky no-pattern Poinsettia.. grown in a hot house!! ha! It is very wonky..but so much fun to make. One for Guild and one for me:)

This weekend was very productive. Look at all I finished. The Guild holiday donations are now all done.

More excitement here. My daughter set up my old Bernina in my sewing room and we are sewing along together. Her boyfriend flew in tonight from Dublin. I told him that he was welcome at least every two weeks because not only do I like him, but Emily cleaned my whole house and it looks wonderful. Thank you Emily and thank you Brian!

More holiday finishes for the Guild

2011-11-19T21:58:00.001-05:00

So isn't this the cutest rug mug you have ever seen??? OMG I am getting carried away with that fabric...And, I hope this is mug rug size...7 and a half inches by 9 and a half inches...batted with Insul-brite. Our Guild holiday party is asking for a gift to share at the table...see previous post and one to donate to the Guild store at the March, 2012 quilt show. I just know that everyone will be lining up to grab this latest mug rug of mine:)

Here are my December contributions to our Quilts of Valor group.

I made my December cuddle quilt at our retreat. The only thing left to do now is to make the pink block for our BoM for breast cancer...and I am done..yeah me.

Focused on the holidays:)

2011-11-19T14:14:00.000-05:00

Ok...second present done! IKEA sent us coupons in the mail for free $25. Yesterday we went to IKEA to redeem them. My sister had to work so I picked up this fabric for her. It won a 2011 design award for IKEA and my sister did NOT like it...ooooo...but I love it..I love funky. I just finished making this bag for the Santa exchange at the Guild. You know the one where you get one present and then the others at the table can take it from you. I think it is perfect for that and I am glad it is done. It only took about an hour and a half. Second present down. In the background you can see the last of the color in our yard. One rain storm and one day made the difference between autumn and winter. Hello winter in Charlotte.

Look at the surprise that my daughter and husband cooked up for me on the computer yesterday. It is art canvas from Polaroid that she got in the $1 (Euro) store in Galway before she came home. I soaked it in water all night long and ironed it good and now I have labels....lucky me!!

Starting Christmas....

2011-11-18T23:23:00.000-05:00

There is about 5 weeks till Christmas and that is for the family celebrations. For friends and donations and guilds and bees, it is earlier. So I guess I had better not start any new quilts till the New Year...Here is a mug rug I made, with Insul-brite and all...now my daughter tells me that it is not a mug-rug. She says it is too big for that. It is 10 inches by 13 inches. Oh, well...guess it is a hot pad then. And it is the beginning of my Christmas sewing. I really loved making it and knowing that the Insul-brite would protect most surfaces.

Since stress is still upon me, I guess I will be sewing a lot. My gift to myself:)

Solomon's quilt

2011-11-17T12:03:00.001-05:00

My friend, Peggy recently flew to Uganda with her daughter-in-law to pick up her new grandson, Solomon. Sooo exciting for them! I think Solomon is about one year old, not too sure, but when they got there he had some parasites and maybe some Malaria. Thankfully they are home and fine now. Because my children are adopted too, I have a soft spot in my heart for adoption. I just finished Solomon's "Welcome home" quilt.

Joy

2011-11-15T14:36:00.001-05:00

How could anyone be sad with such wonderful things to celebrate.

And thank you Uncle Kieran for coming all the way from Galway to plant this to remember you by. We think of you every year.

Camellia...the first plant we planted when be bought the house.

Alice, the poem

2011-11-14T20:22:00.001-05:00

When I closed my practice in Miami, 17 years ago, and moved to Charlotte, I decided not to work. I told my husband that I was just going to clean the kitchen floor and eat M&M's. That didn't go over too well and I ended up working in a Hospice house in the country. I have seen death and I have seen how the body fights for life itself and loses. It is difficult. But, it never is as difficult as watching someone you love decline. When my mother was dying, her friend Mike wrote this poem for her. And though she has now rallied, this poem will always touch my heart. I want to share it with you.

Alice
by Michael Ham

Here, in the twilight, she stands in the shadows
and looks back upon the road just traveled.
Limbs, once young and limber, hold her frame with difficulty now-
the clarion voice of youth now mirrors the song of the butterfly.

She was the poet, and now she is the poem-
a story for the reader yet to come.
There is a clarity to her rhyme-a subtlety to her meter-
and in her verse is the story of humanity.

Here in the twilight she awaits the evening,
not in melancholy, but in anticipation.
She does not stand alone, for here-further back in the shadows-
are all the characters who shared her stage-her light.

She was the play write-and she inhabited her play-
a generous actress always ready to share the applause.
When a fellow actor stumbled, she picked him up
and infused him with a desire to be better-for her.

She was the teacher-sharing the song of poetry with the world.
She was the mentor-passing her love of words to youth.
She was the friend-she was always the friend-
showing each fearful soul what courage looks like.

Here in the twilight- as shadows deepen-
she does not hide her eyes from the coming dark-
but sees the dawn of discovery
that rises on the far horizon-and she prepares.

Here in the fading of the day-when meadowlarks serenade-
She sees the faces of all she loved-of all who loved her-
And as that last glimmer of light falls softly on her aging cheeks-
She hears the angels sing; hosanna.

When I asked Michael for permission to print his poem on my blog, he generously said that it was my mother's poem...his gift to her and it was her permission, not his. Thank you Michael for this wonderful gift.

The Awesome retreat with my awesome friends

2011-11-10T18:09:00.000-05:00

Last weekend 9 of us with our 9 sewing machines went to a retreat in the mountains of West Jefferson, North Carolina. My mother was stable, so my sister and I were both able to join in the fun..3 nights and 4 days.

Brilliant Sherry brought her homemade long arm for us all to practice on.

I quilted my entire hour-glass quilt on this machine!! I hated the learning curve...ugh, but got with the program thx to St. Sherry and love the end result...so proud!

Thanks to Muggs, we had great fun playing, "Right, Left and Center" for fat quarters.

Quilts were finished (Especially great for Drenna's 3 years worth of work) and quilts were started.

And then there was the bonfire with s'mores!

Nothing like friends, nothing like a vacation, nothing like laughing and nothing like quilting!! Oh, did I mention shopping..ooooooooo

2011-11-02T16:24:00.000-04:00

Thank you Terri for sending this repeat. Quilting to Irish music....OMG how much better can it get? Quilt, by Gayle Thomas....video

Getting in the season...

2011-11-01T22:56:00.002-04:00

My sewing room was oh, so clean...so I decided to start a project for the Guild holiday party..and now the clean room is???? You know......

Sometimes I just like both looks...with and without the flash. And, by the way I hate paper piecing, so I do not know why I did this.

Take a good look at my hand carved coffee table from Morocco in the background. I got it in Rabat in my heyday...with a carton of cigarettes and a kiss on the cheek:) My heyday is over, sorry to say. Way over! I was not proud...I still really love my table!

Back in the saddle

2011-10-30T11:53:00.001-04:00

These are the November blocks for the guild....one for them and one for me.

It was supposed to be a house block, but I have never been much of a rule follower..so I figure that this will do.

A new day rising and relaxation with a UFO..

2011-10-29T16:24:00.001-04:00

My mind is unable to create at this time, it is befuddled and exhausted. But, I am back at the machine beginning piecing several boy baby quilts for friends.. A week ago today, my mother went to the ER and was diagnosed with CDIFF. She had very high levels of this bacteria in her intestines and not enough white blood cells to fight it. The ER hydrated her with fluids. Her PCP happened to be at the hospital that night so the ER doctor deferred to him. He told my mother that he could admit her but she would probably die in the hospital. She told him she was ready to die and that she wanted to go home. So the ambulance took her back to Sunrise. The doctor told us that she would die probably in 48 hours and at most a week. She was having terrible diahrrea 10 or 12 times a day which was dehydrating her and she was unable to eat and drink due to Parkinson's progression. We called home my daughter from Europe and my brother and wife from Miami. We all took a week off. Hospice is in. She sent out many many snail mails and emails with the help of my husband saying goodbye to friends. She Skyped her 92 year old cousin in Sweden and they tearfully said goodbye. Over the past few days, there was a parade of at least 50 friends coming to Sunrise to say goodbye. Her poetry group came and had a session dedicated to my mother right in her room. My mother lived. I do not know what to say other than gratitude and once again the realization that no human knows life and death. My brother has gone back, my daughter goes tomorrow and all are going back to work. My mother said that she really enjoyed the wake and hopes noone is disappointed that she has postponed the funeral. So I am now back to blogging and trying to wrap my mind around all this. I thank everyone who has listened to all of this...I am grateful.

Delightful

2011-10-27T17:51:00.000-04:00

Delightful

It's three o'clock in the morning
Still I am baffled by words
Reaching into delicate darkness
Finding an elusive phrase
Mystical, magical poetry
Will lift my spirit for days.

from Circle of Love, by Alice Franzen Clemons Burt

My mother would like to report that she has missed the train again. She said that she is at the station, wondering which train will come next. She is laughing and eating and drinking and creating.

I am exhausted from loving.

Adios

2011-10-25T18:27:00.000-04:00

Adios

So long friends
I'm on my way
Almost ready
For that fateful day
No suitcase
No dollar bills
Nothing needed
Beyond these hills!

from Circle of Love by Alice Franzen Clemons Burt

Collision

2011-10-23T14:22:00.000-04:00

Collision

Wailing of the sirens

calling after me

I can hear them screaming

'EMERGENCY!"

Ageless, weightless, spirit, I,

like a snowflake in the sky,

soaring, floating, dreaming, I,

transient like a butterfly!

from Circle of Love, Alice Franzen Clemons Burt

Happiness is....finishing the last UFO top

2011-10-18T12:57:00.003-04:00

I almost let this go. I almost just said to put it on the back burner...again ...and start something new...but the light bulb turned on and this top is finished. My joyful, happy quilt is my take on Heather Mulder Peterson's "Round About" pattern. I just love it. Now, if my friends are willing...really they do pamper me, they will help me baste the last three tops I have finished. Then I will have 7 basted tops to quilt at the retreat!! I had to buy some new pins, because my friends are fussy...they only like to baste with number 2 pins and I prefer number 1. Now check out the backing...almost 60" wide from IKEA...perfect.

Bibs and budding quilters

2011-10-15T22:52:00.000-04:00

This is the last of the recent unfinished tops. I thought that my grandchildren would have the answer for me so I could get it done and start something new...but they wanted to do their own thing as it should be.

I hope that a few "modern" bibs for the occasion doesn't count as starting something new. The children were asleep and I wanted to sew a bit before bed....reversible bibs..a strip wonder-undered on pre-made bibs.and re-enforced with a blanket stitch.

Mona's meatloaf

2011-10-14T22:47:00.003-04:00

My grandmother was a gourmet cook..it became her profession when she came to America from Sweden at age 15. Since she always lived with us, I can tell you that our family was always well fed. My mother never cooked. I do not know whether or not it was because she didn't like to, or whether it was cause Grandma wouldnt let her in the kitchen!...too many cooks you know! Well, there was one recipe that was my mother's alone and that was this meatloaf. I am partially posting this because my daughter Emily always is cooking nice things and posting them on her blog. I want her to know that I, her mother have not lost my touch..hello.... But, I am also posting it because my brother Raymond is coming from Florida to visit our mother. We have not seen him in two years. This is his favorite dish. I made one to freeze for him to take back home. He is only staying two days because of his work. And then we think of my mother again..She is always on our mind lately. We are having a family birthday party in a week and for the first time in the 11 years that she has lived in Charlotte, my mother is unable to physically get to my house for the party. The Parkinsons is keeping her from swallowing much food so she is too tired and too fragile. And, since her first hospitalization in August, she cannot transfer on her own. Even if I hired a million dollar bus to drive the wheelchair onto, it is too much for her. As much as I tell myself what I want to hear, it is clear that she has not regained what she lost before pneumonia and the fall. And so, although there is much to be grateful for....we have now entered another phase in her disease. It also looks to me that we will have to reinvent Thanksgiving and Christmas too. I much prefer fantasy and dreams over reality. But....

Voila, my mother's meatloaf!!!

MEATLOAF recipe just as she wrote it: 1 lb hamburg, 2 slices broken bread, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 small onion, 1 egg, few canned tomatoe, small amount salt and pepper, bacon strips

Beat hamburg well. Add 1 finely chopped onion and 1 beaten egg. Mix. Soak bread in milk. Add. Stir in oatmeal and tomatoes. The more you beat, the better. Add seasoning. Mix well. Be sure mixture is not too soft or too hard; just right for shaping into loaf. Add dab of tomatoe soup and flour and put strips of bacon across top. Bake about one hour at 350 F. (As for me, I do none of the above. I just mix it all together at once, adding more oatmeal and bread as needed and I use a bit of the sauce from the tomatoes cause I am too lazy to open tomato soup. It tastes great anyway. Ode to Mom.

And then there was the moving sale at Andy's house

2011-10-13T17:45:00.001-04:00

Andy has to sell her house of 30 some years and move on to a new adventure. New adventures are sometimes scary, but beautiful and talented Andy will flourish. I went to her moving sale to help..but help I did not...buy I did a much better job at. Andy, your beautiful handmade things and your collectibles will be cherished and appreciated by me..their new home..here... for visiting.

Fabric.com and the magic cure!

2011-10-13T17:07:00.003-04:00

When my mother was in the hospital, I was stressed to the max. One of the nights when I was finally home, I wanted to cry, I was sooo tired. But, not to tired too get on http://fabric.com/ and spend hours looking through their sale. My husband came up with dinner and I couldn't leave the computer. He said...does this fix everything?? And I gave a resounding, "YES" and pushed the order button. It just now came and here it is thrown on the kitchen floor for a photo before washing. Nine yards of wonderful stuff at average, $4 a yard...such therapy:)! I love you Fabric.com.

UFO Christmas kittie/angel top done

2011-10-13T16:49:00.000-04:00

I recently read that "value does the work but color gets the credit". That is a wonderful saying. In this top, I think that I could have used a different border for value..but, I think it will work with a red binding. However, the driving force behind this border was the absolutely adorable print. I got it at maybe $1 a yard years ago; it is 48 inches wide. I am going to use it on the back too because I love it so.

I think that I have one more UFO top to finish. Then I will have a million to quilt when I am off on my November retreat!!

Hourglass backing done..moving on

2011-10-12T12:22:00.000-04:00

There is nothing brilliant about this backing except that it is done. I have had this yellow batik forever. I think it was on sale because I bought alot of it. Then I didn't like it because it looks like water spills all over it. So I decided to use some of it up and to doctor it with strips...again, it is not great, but I am happy to use up and be done.

I just visited my mother. I was so worried that I forgot that Wednesday is the day she leads her poetry group. I got there and she was happily talking poetry with her volunteer preparing for the group. I noticed that she didnt have the wrist call button we ordered and worse than that, she did not have the velcro seat belt ordered in discharge from the hospital by the neurologist. Four days home and no seat belt. Yesterday she had a Parkinson's episode and started shaking and almost fell out of the wheelchair at the computer when I was sitting right next to her. Of course the piece of work that is my mother was trying to print out her obituary that she had written for herself 4 years ago.. Please...oh, please... Mother Dear, write your obit with no seat belt and drive your eldest daughter to her grave!!

Hourglass top and shot cotton:)

2011-10-10T21:15:00.004-04:00

When I have decided to finish up UFO's I often feel cheated that I cannot start something new. I am a baby like that...Under stress, it is easier for me to finish than start. It is more mindless and thus more relaxing. Here, I blended both to treat myself by using this great new green shot cotton in the border...:)

A brand new day

2011-10-08T16:16:00.000-04:00

OMG I think I am going to be dead before my mother is....All night long I waited for the call from the hospital in a fitful sleep. This morning when I arrived there to see my mother, she was alert and feeling good and wanting to go home. I was so delighted. Up and down and down and up....This cat of a mother of mine has 9 lives and I guess a few left. After seven hours there today, I just had to leave. The nurse just called me to report that Mom had just been picked up by hospital transport to go back home. I cannot believe it...Thank you all for listening to my ongoing drama.

And sew away the stress....

2011-10-07T21:41:00.001-04:00

I sat all day in the hospital watching my mother sleep and struggle. What happens to a stage 4 Parkingson's patient when they have not been able to swallow their medication? What happens to one who has fallen and bruised herself at age 90? And to top it off, the ambulance driver dropped something on her head when he picked her up leaving an even bigger bruise than when she fell. Jeeze.. Even with the great news of nothing broken, my mother looks like she is fading away. And, she is confused. They say that it takes a few days for the Morphine to get out of her system, but I do not like it. I do not like it at all. I came home exhausted..what to do? Saw this quilt on the design wall. I still hate it. Below it is so busy...and I was so tired..

I decided to give it a break with a bit of neutral sashing...better...and even much better because I forgot for a minute to worry about my mother.

Not many people would understand, but I really really wished I had my sewing machine in the hospital today. I would have set it up right next to my snoring mother and put the speed on fast and sewed random strips together...no thinking required. But, even as eccentric as I am...I knew that even I just couldnt do it:) Meantime, a little work here tonight and just for a moment I can forget.

The gift and the gifted

2011-10-06T20:57:00.003-04:00

The best gift of all was today from the spine surgeon...Yesterday, the big fall, the ambulance, the ER doctor, the hospitalist, the X-rays and the CAT scan...today the neurologist, the swallowing specialist, the nurses, another hospitalist, the MRI, and finally at 6:30 pm, the spine surgeon. My poor old mother has been lying prone without food, medication or drink on Morphine for almost 24 hours now thinking that she had broken her back. Tonight the real gift was delivered by the angel..the spine surgeon who declared that no, she had not broken her back...recently that is...many moons ago yes, but who knew then. For now, her pain is purely muscular. Tonight she sat up finally and was able to swallow her meds and sip Ginger ale and eat some ice cream. She has another chance. TBTG

Tonight Evangelina will finally sleep! Her quilt has been gifted. TBTG Enjoy dear Evie:) And, thanks again to Melissa for the cute tutorial!

And Brianna, born just on Monday, has her bag...Enjoy Brianna!!

And, gifted to Carol and Tom for their wedding this month, from the archives:

And for me, gifted some peace of mind!

I hate Parkinson's disease....AGAIN...or still...

2011-10-06T04:59:00.000-04:00

My mother fell out of her wheelchair tonight while at the computer writing a poem when she was supposed to have gone to bed. Unfortunately she fractured/compressed a disk in her back. She is now in the hospital. And so now she cannot sit up and when she cannot sit up, she cannot take her Parkinsons meds or pain meds or swallow or drink water or eat. So she is on Morphine for the pain to see if she can sit up tomorrow. However, Morphine makes her loopy. So I wish I was on Morphine. I hate hate hate Parkinson's disease. I only have one mother.

Charlotte's quilting guilds

2011-10-04T22:27:00.000-04:00

I love my Charlotte quilting guilds......http://charlottemodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/ and www.charlottequiltersguild.org/ I am so lucky!! Tomorrow night to the Charlotte Quilters Guild for me:) Meeting at Original Pancake House near Southpark before the Guild for anyone who wants to join us...5:20 to 6:15. See you all there..

Dear Evangelina......

2011-10-04T14:38:00.001-04:00

Dear Evangelina...I know that you have not been sleeping well without your quilt. Please excuse me....but I decided to experiment with your quilt and made some feather stitches that I had never ever ever done before. It is all done now but the binding and you should have it soon.

Dear ME, Did I really grab impulsively for those washable Crayola markers or not???? Panic in the quilting room! I have never washed a quilt without the binding before...stay tuned..it is in the cold water wash as we speak(: I think that the pix below is a wet quilt!!

Organization

2011-10-02T21:45:00.002-04:00

Christmas fabric....yesterday...

And Christmas fabric today!

Thank you Sherry and Drenna for the inspiration and Mr.O'Quilts for finding the boxes in the attic!

Musings again!

2011-10-01T23:30:00.000-04:00

When folks say that life is just like quilting, I say, AMEN. Just when I am going in one direction, life/quilts take me in another. As you can see from Milito below, I am not the only one searching...I left the hutch door open for just one minute, voila...cat hair on my favorite batiks.

Accomplishment today...the block of the month for our Guild...done

While cleaning up the piles on my table, I found several UFOs. The following I decided to put on my design wall, again.

Next, I found these blocks that I have been keeping for 20 years for a quilt for my daughter, Emily...age

8. Now Emily is 28...too late for her, but...

I just put both blocks together in one quilt for another little girl in my life! Twenty years to make a decision?

On the way to one place, oh, no...another place. A huge stash of Christmas fabric. Now what?

So, isn't it all like life? Starting out here and ending up there?

Quilt top process

2011-09-27T21:16:00.001-04:00

The question is: How can I best avoid cleaning my office for a full day of work tomorrow? Easy...first I take a lovely nap, snoozing peacefully on my screened- in porch reading a quilt history book. Then I pull out of the stack this quilt top that I have not worked on in about a year. I added the yellow border with the purple squares matching. Matching is quite an achievement for me.. This yellow border looks garish, but I remember that a quilt is not finished until it is quilted and bound. Sometimes it is the binding that really makes the quilt. So this border is not the final one and an inch will be taken off of it before the next border is added. A border a year...that is not bad now!! Stay tuned.

Now to maybe sew a butterfly on Evangelina's quilt. I know at two weeks she is not sleeping thru the night because she does not have her quilt!! I bear a heavy burden!

Trip top

2011-09-23T12:18:00.000-04:00

Trip around the world process

2011-09-22T21:16:00.001-04:00

I have cut backs and battings for two quilts now...moving right along. Now I have decided to make my Trip quilt a bit larger with borders....auditioning a green or purple strip between the greys...Hoping to get this ready for basting tomorrow...I love progress:) It is funny how one little 1.5 inch strip can alter the look.

Five days old...an I-Spy quilt beginning......for...

2011-09-19T21:48:00.000-04:00

Baby quilt process

2011-09-19T20:40:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time there was a baby who knew her own mind from the get-go. Even though her due date was September 10th, she wanted to be a Halloween baby....so she waited and she waited...but, oh, no her mother made her come in September and the doctor agreed!!

Because I know that this baby is special and wants things her way, I have decided to use the light box for the first time in forever. I cannot get the "E" right, but I will keep trying, even if it takes till Halloween:) I want it perfect, just like she is.

I am using the light box here to reverse the letters for applique.

Priorities

2011-09-19T18:10:00.003-04:00

To day is the day to remember with gratitude that I am loved. My husband gave me flowers. Flowers that money cannot buy...only love. He picked them by the creek on his walk and carried them home, just for me.

And today is to remember my priorities with my favorite poem from e.e. cummings:

let it go – the
smashed word broken
open vow or
the oath cracked length
wise – let it go it
was sworn to
go
let them go – the
truthful liars and
the false fair friends
and the boths and
neithers – you must let them go they
were born
to go
let all go – the
big small middling
tall bigger really
the biggest and all
things – let all go
dear
so comes love

The Special Visitor

2011-09-18T18:01:00.001-04:00

Last night, lucky me, met Shannon. She was home to Charlotte from South Africa where she teaches impoverished children in the country. AND, where she blogs, cooks and creates with great cleverness under circumstances quite foreign to me sitting here in my comfy home. At 28 years old, she is already making a difference in this world. Along with her brave mother Andy, and her sister Suzannah, I was surrounded by the pleasure of artists. Lucky me.

The Beautiful Day

2011-09-18T13:44:00.001-04:00

Last night we went to a lovely party celebrating 25 years of the Irish Society of Charlotte. Of course the piano player (my husband) is always the last to leave. This morning my cat and I slept till 11:30. My husband was long gone to watch the All Irelands game downtown at the pub. What old lady in her right mind would sleep away half the day???? Guess you know! So how to make the best of what is left of a beautiful day????