Here We Go Again.....a Post

 My  quilt is quilted...Thank you Mary Jerz!!!!  I am naming it "The Beguine"...after the Cole Porter song, "Begin the Beguine"    So bright...colors not clear here, but you get the idea.  "The Beguine" is a dance and music form with roots in the Caribbean.  It combines Latin folk and French ballroom dance styles.  It is bright and happy  just like my quilt.

Being a bit cheap on buying more fabric, below is the pieced  backing:  Again, colors not bright enough.

Below Is my finished bag from a linen towel I found for a dollar.  Batik lined, I am pleased.

This is the third preemie donation quilt for the Ronald McDonald  house. It is 21 inches by 21 inches...Guess preemies are tiny..These are for the car seat going home.

Here where I live is a friend who grew up loving chickens.  She follows  my blog and even met Emily when she visited a few weeks ago.  A chicken potholder for her...She loved it.  Last time I heard, she was showing it around to her friends.  She has a chicken statue in her garden.

My friend Lee is some artist ....I love this painting she did.   My apartment complex is full of talented people.

I loved this quote, but now I cannot read it....

Mary Katherine lives across  the hall from me. Two days ago she competed in the senior games in swimming....She came home with 5 medals, 4 gold and one silver.  MK turns 90 in a month!!

The weather is changing in Charlotte, just a little....but enough to feel more comfortable.

My physical therapist wants me to lie on my stomach and lift my legs up.  Impossible.  I have not done that in years.

My darling grands came today to go with me to the grocery store and help out a little bit....How very very lucky am I.  I love them so....16 and 17. They are so helpful, shopping faster than I can move; Lynsey putting everything away before I get into the house, Dylan hovering over old Grandma like I was 150 years old.  I am so grateful.

Even September is Hurrying Along

My girl came  to visit me here in Charlotte for four days...We  got alot done and of course, I felt loved  She filled my heart with joy as  always.

We watched below:  The Great British Sewing Bee!!!  Fun!!  She sewed and I sewed.......

My new favorite quote:

“A little too much is just enough for me.”  

Carl Van Vechten

Big Thanks Marilyn for  this "Member Spotlight" in our Guild newsletter.

                                                     

Now, I am getting together some tops for my longarmer, Mary Jerz.  I am grateful for her.  Everything is together now, but for piecing a backing..I think that is .annoying, I do not want to buy more fabric when I have so much.

More fun from Oregon....Aoife brings "Bock Bock" to the neighborhood Labor Day get together!!

Saturday after my daughter left, I arranged a pity party dinner with friends here...Look what Candace made me....HA!!!   Well, it all worked;  Two hours of laughter and fun and not a tear in sight...Lucky me with friends like this!

Politics is  giving me a stomach ache....However, tonight I went to a "meet the local candidates" hot dog dinner...I was so amazed at the enthusiasm of the youthful candidates...Well worth the visit.

Came home to news of more  family drama...Maybe I should just go to bed.  I  usually like to stay up till 2 am sewing, but now, at 11...bed is calling!!!

xoxo

Never Too Late to share in a Post

God help me...posting is getting harder.  I think there has been some new challenges  with the computer..I just may no longer be up to them....  A big thanks to those of you who have commented or emailed...I love to keep in touch...Just slowing down...

That being said, below is my second donation to Ronald McDonald's house for parents of preemies.  These  21x21inch covers are for their tiny bodies as they go into their car seat, finally headed home.  All done with scraps...so satisfying ..

The back of this cutie is covered with lions.  The baby this quilt went home with had been in the  hospital 5 months.

                                               

                                                   

A lovely visit with Marilyn Gore last week brought these lovelies:  Marilyn is one of North Carolina's most well known maker of African quilts...Lucky me for the visit.

Above is my first grandson...now 21....Below is my second grand...now 17.

  Time  flies..I.love them so.

Lynsey's new boyfriend spent quite a bit of time cleaning threads from my sewing chair...wow...Thanks to him, I can now roll my chair again.

The Portland family has arrived home after two weeks in Ireland...Awaiting them were Stitch, the cat and Rosie, the dog...all on my antique quilt....sigh..

I did not go to Ireland, yet I am exhausted.  I did not clean the wheels of my chair..again, exhausted.
So grateful for my family..and all the love we share.

A blue bottle tree graces my garden....My too many bottles went down the  hall to another quilter....Here is her lovely one:

Two Clemson potholders finished and delivered...

All done for now.

Good night!!

UFOs and Such

 A friend fell out of her big heavy duty electric wheelchair  last night...She is all banged up and in the hospital now..We think  her MS has progressed...I mde this flower hanging to cheer her with a card on the door saying we love her.  This flower is made by ironing scraps on fusible fleece, quilting it..Then running it thru an Accu-Cutter shape.  Cute button from my button collection  adds the touch.

The first UFO finished today is a chair pad.  Wiggle stitches on a piece of baby water resistant flannel, covered with African fabric.is a perfect protector for chairs that somehow might be otherwise stained with red wine, grape jelly, chocolate, etc.  Not that I take in any of these...it is just a precaution:)  On Saturday afternoons friends meet at the Art Room to visit and work on projects..Lucky me was able to bring my 11 pound red Jamone travel machine down there....The hum of the machine and the act of sewing is my best meditaion ever!!

WIP on my bed with random scrappy squares:

A donation quilt top in the works

Just need a border here for a scrap baby quilt...A donation shirt from a  charity store for $2...at least 50 years old gave me the shade of green I wanted.  Just waiting, again....for the border.

A lovey WIP or UFO, six  year old Aoife with her 7 year old cousin, Abby...on vacation by the Irish sea.

Today was a great  day ..Grateful.

Summer Color

 My little porch garden has been tended by a friend on the 3rd floor.  She is passionate about gardening and I am not..I gave my garden to her.  This is a wonderful gift for both of us

The Clematis by my blue bottle tree....In Southern tradition, the blue bottles send evil spirits on their way to somewhere else..Grateful, I am.

My barn star from Oregon, still graces the garden.

Ronald McDonald House in Charlotte is collecting knitted or crocheted small blankets to cover preemies in their carseats for the going home ride.

The size was 20 to  24 inch square.  Below is my quilted offering, made with random scrap HSTs

Very, very fun to make.

The back:

In the Oregon family tradition:

Questions:

1.  Does our cat, Stitch, love fabric???

2.  Is six year old Aoife now a chicken???

Is this really her bedroom???

As my son continues to find himself, my daughter-in-law has stepped up...She came today with the two girls, for lunch and an outing to Trader Joe's..

Grateful xo

A Happy Day

A few UFO blocks now primed for next year's patriotic hangings..So much fun.

My eldest grandson is  21  xo

Out on the west coast, Bok Bok comes inside to lay her eggs and then watches TV for a bit with 6 year old...My youngest grandchild...xo

A scrap beginning, for Ronald McDonald House.  They are asking for yarn made or quilt made 20 inches by 20 inches car seat lovies for the premature infants ride home from the hospital  This is my first try..

Our family's favorite..Stitch....the sewing machine cat ....Miss him so much as  he now lives in Portland.

Potholder...so not worth the effort ...Spent forever finding the perfect middle circle...Linda found it...Then,  I made a  mess attaching it...Joyce took out the threads...Finally...done...sigh...It is only a potholder!!!!

I was just gifted some vintage blocks....all hand pieced...Here, my friends helped me lay them out  in the art room here.

Sew it goes...fabric fun, lunch fun, fresh watermelon and peach fun...fresh peanut butter and cucumber sandwich..fun...Life is good....

Potholders, Paintings, People. Posters

 The bag I posted the other day..cough...other week, is finished...This is the handle and decorative vintage buttons.  I love it.

My friend Lee is a brilliant painter...She was practically giving away some of her paintings.  I just know I can find an inch or two in my small apartment for them.

A few funnies to cheer our day!

Sixteen year old Dylan got his driver's license and bought a truck...so proud!!

Unfinished potholders just had to share.

A thank you pouch for a friend who loves lady bugs.

Well, this post is late and later...been working on it forever. Then, I forgot it!

Thanks to a wonderful Chris helping me with PT, and a smart doctor with a Latin vibe, I am getting better...Slow, I finally  understand, is better than not at all...My group tells me, "Progress, not perfection!!. I am grateful. And, I am grateful for all of  you who still read my blog.