Big Gratitude and Small Gratitude

My Magnolia gift today...brilliant with a wing span of 10 inches!! Amazing!!

Gratitude for Aoife...soon to be 6....A pix of pot of gold under the Irish rainbow....with a chicken enjoying herself...of  course.

AND....Lip gloss for Grandma...Hmmmmmm

My favorite relaxation: creating potholders...Oh, dear...I am all out of Insulbrite!

I am way behind making potholders as I give them away so often....to folks who are so nice to me...or who have birthdays or have sad days. Grateful for my cool and awesome Janome 8900 sewing machine and my huge fabric stash!!

Missing my family who have gone before me...and the stellar family I have left.

Generosity is..loaning my car to my  friend so she could practice swimming for her  tournament on Thursday in the senior games..Yesterday, I loaned my red travel Janome to my 97 year old quilting buddy so she could machine quilt her latest.  Both of these women inspire me so much. 

 Here;  Our neighbor, MK with all  her swimming medals:  She will be 90 in October.  

Time is going very fast...I fear that all my fabric making dreams will not fit into the time I have left here on earth... One am is evidently the time to worry about that??!!  Not!!

Nte! xo

Gifts of Love

A friend fell last night in the hall in her nighty...Off she went to the ER , returning today with an arm broken in two places and stitches on her face. She will be 90 in July and is quite fragile physically....not mentally....stubborn and of Irish descent.  I whipped up a pillow cover for her comfort.   I get these small basic pillows online, having them available for sick friends.  They are a perfect present as  they can be used on your lap for dinner, in the crook of your neck or the back of your chair.  It is in a bag now and will be delivered tomorrow.

Tommy Bahama silk shirts I found at our thrift store for $5 each.  I planned to cut them for a different feel in a quilt as they are 3x, xt men's shirts with lots of fabric. I threw them into the  wash and drier before I read the label that they were 100% silk.  They came out fine..  Guess they were a different kind of silk than I am used to.  After seeing the price of them online, I am troubled about cutting them up.  I will see...

Below, Dylan is 16.  Driving with his permit still..Amazing.  I got him when he was 3...Dylan is not the only one in my family who is older....cough, cough...says Grandma O'Quilts!!

Below is the latest in funky.  I had cut up that 2$ thrift store blouse with all the buttons.  The green reminds me of forever ago.  I am planning on applying letters on it...maybe...Be Kind?  Stay tuned.

I so love making memories.

My family is all off having their own lives, as it should be.  Grandma here so happy in her garden reading and hanging out with her sewing machines.   One of the best feelings in quilting groups is all ages of women coming together in a common cause. Here, it happens in all areas.  I am off to play this card game called, Hand and Foot.  I had never  heard of it till here.  I will be playing with folks between the ages of 62 and 97...All so interesting and supportive.  I  have so much gratitude to be here with them.

Today I am in a chipper mood.  I actually had a good  night sleep last night.  What a difference that makes..

Mothers' Day Today

 Grandma Dear made this cross stitch for me 50 some years ago...Guess she knew me well..It hangs now on my door to remind me to love myself the way  I am.

My new glass chicken item...gifted to me by friends from the glass factory they visited..

 Last year I lost 40 pounds...Then, I was able to have my hip replaced.  A few months back, I  went to the hernia specialist.  She said I had to lose 50 more  pounds before she would do my hernia surgery.  OMG   I am so not a magician...Disgusted, I am cruising Pinterest and eating jelly beans.. Really?????  No one told me age would mean visits with multiple doctors instead of visits to multiple fabric shops.  UGH

 Above, king of my  UFO lot..I made tons of them...16 patches.....Now thinking on their layout.

Happy Mother's Day!!!  Lucky me heard from both of my children and my dear DIL  Lucky lucky me!!

I did  not hear from my grands, but that is just fine.. I have had a lovely day.  A three hour lunch with friends and my sister here at my place...Prime rib was delightful..Life is good.  I am grateful.

How perfect is this picture of my girl and her girl on Mother's Day.  I  love it  so.  When they called this morning, I spoke with Aoife.  She informed me that she was not five...She was five and a half!!  So there!!

The above note was role modeled for us all our lives by our mother.  A great tribute to her..Missing her so...She has been gone for 12 years now.

XXOO Mother...

Sewing Crumbs

My crumb quiltlet:  "My Mellow Yellow"

Crumbs are ironed on fusible fleece, quilted and made into small hanging. My  latest obsession:  buttons...I love them so!!  I think I will make some earrings this week..

They were only 3 and 4 when I got these darlings to raise.  Now, here they are at 16 and 17..so very dear to me.  They came today for lunch....They helped Grandma in so many ways.....lots of hugs and kindness...I am very very lucky.

The weather in Charlotte has been hot and hotter.....80's and even a 90.  Today is 58 midday....TBTG for China and Sherry and Amazon for my wonderful fireplace...Perfect for a nap after  4 youthful visitors this morning.

Feeling old today.  The grands are so quick and efficient.  Lynsey organized my pantry in 5.  I get so overwhelmed that I cannot even do it...I am so amazed.. Grandma!!!!  She said, Why are there 15 boxes of baggies in the pantry??  I cannot bend over to look, so I just buy more...Grandma!!!    She does not understand, but that girl surely knows  how to organize!!!  Grateful me.

Two of the boys put my quilt top on the floor to measure the backing..So helpful and again, so quick.

Four (one brought a friend) of them were here for 90 min helping and  hugging me, then they were gone and I was exhausted and I did nothing, took a nap....I am thinking I am old before my time....

UFOs here galore, yet here I relax in front of Pinterest....

My latest square top:  the coral fabric is the backing..

Cute label on the back of my repurposed sweatshirt.

A stunning day again...out to the yard with a book.

Does Grandma Need to do a Chicken Intervention???

 I have a talented and beautiful daughter.  She has one too...Voila:  Aoife!!!

This family,  out in Oregon has gone ballistic about chickens...Here are some of the choice pictures:

Above:  the potholder I made for Aoife's play kitchen..Chickens from Spoonflower.

A crochet chicken as a pet for Grandma....a gift to  me???  OMG!!!

Above:  Finally Fig gave birth in the cat's basket in the third floor sewing room...Cat, Stitch, is so not  happy!  Below:  My amaryllis from last year's Christmas gift from Trader Joes, now in my garden

A kindergarten girl's idea of art in school

In a lovely hanging holder (made by Sherry)  are a few of my flower pens...Never to lose another pen in my house!!

I found this last year on the web.  It now is  on my apartment door.

The  question is???  Do the Portland relatives need a chicken intervention?

See below:  I can see that my family is so not alone in the love of a pet chicken.

Chickens as Pets in China

Chicken raising in Portland, Oregon

Having a Chicken as a house pet

New Popular Pet Amongst Millenials

Grandma O'Quilts is so Slowing Down

Finally my aches and pains allow a posting...Below is a bag made for a friend...Evidently, the bag must be about 4x7 and clear to enter some events.  I was going to make it from scratch when  I saw in our recycle store this bag for $4...  I cut the bag to size, added pretty laminate with glue and thread, jeans needles.  Voila!!  The next time I was in the store, I bought a handle to match from another bag.  This was so much fun.  The color is much brighter...a perfect birthday present.

Thank you Candace for the very first bloom this season of "Just Joey"  It reminds me so much of the rose my husband won a prize for at a rose show in Miami 40 some years ago...and since it was just the death date for him on the 14th,....11 years, this was a timely gift. xo

A true find from the art studio..Thank you Joyce...I cannot  wait to invent a project on which to place them.

A man upstairs turned 95 yesterday.  He had painted one wall in his apartment a watermelon color.  I call him Mr. Watermelon, thus a jar opener for his birthday.

Trudy and I went to the dollar store the other day.  I bought 2 pkg of pens and some artificial flowers.  That store was a rough experience, however, with a bit of electrical tape from  there, I came home to the fun and quick job of making flower pens for easy recognition.  I gave some to the receptionist  here and to others....I love them.

Very very proud of my daughter-in-law, Stasi...She laid the bricks, found the flag and planted her own garden in her very own home...So wonderful!!

This Portland hen goes by the name of Fig.  

Gathering eggs and patting chickens must be tiring work for a 5 year old.

And so,  Tell me how  the weather  can go from 4 days of almost  90 degree weather to a windy 60...brr..Ninety degrees spoiled me...

Grandma here and her arthritis wish you all happy sewing from the Carolinas.

A Lovely April

 

In Portland...the family, backyard hen house..

For Easter, my girl delivered eggs from her own hens, the hens' names written right on them...I mean, credit as due!!!

In Ireland....our girl, the farm hand...with an attitude...and baby lamb!

 Baby Bok Bok from a few years back.

Big Bok Bok!!!!

Here, in Matthews, our Ann painted her shoes with acrylics....She is so new to painting...wow...

Today's visit from my grands...I love them so!!

They fixed things for me, gave me hugs and ate dinner...They are so wonderful.

Now I do not know who the old lady is???  Looks a lot like my own grandmother at this age..

Where does time go???

My favorite picture of my DIL and me...taken 4 years ago.

Tonight MC showed me her Amaryllis from last year...It grew so much that it broke the bowl it was in.  I have never seen anything like it..

Beautiful days in Charlotte now...walking by the lake, reading a book and enjoying the wild life.

I do bring my arthritis with me... we are quite used to each other  by now.

Tuesday will be 11 years since my husband died.. Unbelievable...I miss him so..He was great on giving to others...So I guess I will donate to the Food bank in his name.

Life is good.

xoxo

Crazy Life and Age is Upon Me....

 Dear me, I am so out of touch.  Big thanks to Sherry for restoring my blogging button to my screen...I still so struggle with technology.  Age is upon me with issues...darn....How could I struggle with my blog after so long.

Below is a gifted jar opener backed with drawer liner.  It is for a friend who loves Chinese symbols and  just returned from the hospital.. I stuck it on her door last night.  This fabric was found  years ago at IKEA. I have yards of it.

  

Boxes made...guess I just could not stop...This one is for a new couple just moving in:

This one, for a birthday gift to a gardening friend

I have a blue one too...but lost the picture...age is upon me!!

Buttons are my newist craze...The 11 th anniversary of my husband's death is coming up on April 14th...My son still struggles and my last hip replacement has left me on a walker...Jeeze ....so my movie star days are over, but that does not  mean that I like it!!!! 

Below is my O:Wabi-Sabi One....scraps ironed on fusible fleece, quilted and bound...very fun!!

And, so it goes. I am sooo grateful to live in this wonderful retirement community.  If one of us gets sick, we just go to the next level of care at no additional cost....No one gets evicted because of money. It feels so safe...I have wonderful new friends, a new quilting group, a lovely side garden to read in...and when my leg cut mends, a wonderful swimming pool right next door to my apartment.  I am so very lucky.  I have been making small things to share with friends in trouble:  key fobs, tissue holders, bowl cozies, little boxes, covered "happy" cloths (washcloths with color) or jar openers..etc.

These can be  used anywhere:  faces, kitchens, bathrooms,  etc...Just covered washclothes to be pretty.

My today"s practice is gratitude and small things given with great love...You know:  Me and Mother Teresa....OK  not really, but the idea is sounds good, as I bloom where I am planted xo