Two Steps Forward....

Kaffe laminate on the outside.
Tutorial from Laminate toiletry bag by Polka Dot Chair.

Laminate on the inside.

Putting those little helpful clips inside.

This is for a thank you gift...I just could not wrap my head around the second part of the tute..
OMG  What would life be like without a friend like Sherry to help me out!!!!
xoxo
My son is saving me $150 by  taking apart the outdoor AC and cleaning it.
Besides other things, it was full of Zoe's hair...He also found a baby snake.

Below...OK Connie...The roses have been soaked with Epson Salts and water.
Note the black banana peel hanging from the branches...
We are trying anything.
In a few days, we will cut them back ....OMG  My man loved these roses.

Today I opened the blinds in my bedroom, something new for me....

Last week, I went to Walmart.  I have not done that since Christmas.

With the thrill of a one year old child...I can walk.

And...

I can walk without a cane...such joy..

Today, I went to a clothing store...
I got light-headed...
I recouped in the car.
 I came home with one blouse.
Because I am no longer myself..my decisions are sketchy.
My only hope is that my daughter does not come visit and decide I have chosen
something better suited for a 12 year old...

I read a book...as always taking journal notes into my phone on the wisdom I discover.

When my husband died, I got a string of black bracelets...Each year he was gone, I added one.
Today I threw them away.
He would be horrified to think I still had them 4 years later.

Cjsmimi  Please send me  your email address so I can properly thank you for your nice comment xo

Today was a really good day.  I am getting better.
The children are coming home tomorrow so they can go to camp.
Every day I say a prayer of thanks for how well their parents are doing..

Now, if someone could come help me clean my sewing room!!!!!!
Oh, well...xo

WIP...Works in Process

Such a fun time at Guild Sit and Sew today.
I am finally getting to this Halloween bit..
Four Patch Frenzy
Hope I can sew it together tomorrow.

Last night was  the night I found that I had 10 large rotary cutters....all needing new blades.
That is the result of trying to clean my sewing room.
I have put new blades in them all...now need a special place...hmmm

I finished up the last three of the 8 place mats, I had made for the Modern Quilt Guild for  next month
Hope I remember to bring them to the meeting.

Summer cooking school for teens Salud...at Whole Foods
Grandma paying anything to keep the 14 year old from just hanging out..
Even though...it was only a week, it was a great success.

He hated the idea...but he loved it once he got there.
He was so proud.

The students prepared lunch ...wonderful
They prepared the lunch from 10 to 1...Then they each brought a visitor to lunch at one.
I was so excited it was me...
At the end of the luncheon, Evan said that I was not too embarrassing.
TBTG
THAT was the  highlight of my life.

Proud of the desserts he helped make.

Now I hear that Mr.O'Quilt's roses may have the deadly Rosette virus..
Stay tuned...ugh

Just wondering how a formerly smart person would end up eating all of Linda's cookies,
plus all of Eamon's candy...and end up with a sugar stomach ache...
MOTHER, I have turned into you.
I remember when you ate all the Easter bunny candy and had to run out for more the night before.
And you did that every year!!!

RIP Dear Mother RIP

Every Day is the Best Day Ever

Fun Camp Mindy...tie dye t-shirts.

Tula...with love to me, from a friend.xoxo

Since Fabric.com stopped being a family business, bought out by Amazon..
I have hated the prices and customer service.
However.....they did have a selection of knits on sale
Now that I am 4 years out of my family's 6 year crisis, I may try to sew with knits..

While looking for this affordable practice knit...I found Kona cottons on sale for $4.99.
A Prime Day special.
Did not need them.....Did not seem to matter...yummy solids..stole my heart.
On the Asparagus and the Pansy, I got an extra yard each, as they were end of bolt.!!

This Saturday, our Guild has an all day Sit and Sew...called Christmas in July.
As I have never really been a rule follower..I am bringing this...
Halloween fabrics are a favorite of mine.

My daughter sent me pictures of her his garden produce.

I felt a bit on the jealous side...my man always had a garden for us..

Then I saw this...my son and the children had planted in pots..

I am so lucky.

I keep asking 9 year old Dylan why I am so very tired.
His answer is always the same...Because you are a grandma.
Maybe he is right.  I am 7 weeks out now from my fourth joint replacement.

My son loves to work on cars....He still gives a great hug!!!
And, I take it every time.

My making an easy crock pot dinner..set Lynsey free to make desserts!!
Not willing to settle for one, she made lemon pudding in cupcake cups and a big ol"
chocolate pudding pie...You go Lynsey.

Dylan has trouble falling asleep and a hard time getting up.
He begged for one of these on Prime Day.
The other two were jealous...Now we have 3 of them.

My man had 8  to 10 luscious rose bushes. They are about 10 years old..The Knock Out ones.
Lately, I see that they are dying...all of them...
Isn't it enough to loose my man without losing his roses too???

Even with the sad roses, and my painful bones...
Every Day is the Best Day Ever.

O'Quilt Ramblings

Thank you dear Eithne, for  this adorable cat vinyl you brought all the way from Ireland for me.

I love you Eithne.

Tonight I ventured to make a reusable snack bag for Lynsey.

 Evidently it is true...the best learning comes from mistakes.

I have made 6 trillion of these.  AND  I watched the below video to be sure

I did it right....nope...I did it wrong...but I re-grouped and it worked out just fine..

How I made this mistake, I do not know.

I just zigzagged the edges and voila....still usable.

This is the link I used.

Reusable snack bags

Mine is lined with Rip Stop

I have had a problem putting the names on these bags nicely.

This marker on muslin did OK for awhile

On the cat one, I wrote on ribbon and sewed it into the side.

Any suggestions will be appreciated...The children use these all the time.

Camp, school snacks, car snacks...just rinse them out and use them again.

From the library came this book

Victoria Findlay Wolfe

 Examples from Modern Quilt Magic...which I found quite interesting.

Yesterday was 7-11-19...Which of course meant it was free slurpee day at the 7-11 store.
A line of children having a field day.

Now..The three children are in the kitchen...all helping the 9 year old make pancakes.
He insisted that tonight was his night to make dinner as  his siblings did it the other nights.
His bro and sis are guiding him.. It is adorable...
All this even though, I had already made spaghetti...

I thought you might be interested in seeing the pupcakes my daughter made for Rosie's first birthday party.  Pumpkin Peanut butter pupcakes with salmon mousse topping

Here is Rosie's birthday party at the dog park...
That girl of mine is nuts about animals.

Look at the doctor fabric I found in my stash.
It is perfect for potholders for my ortho surgeon.
He has done all four of my successful joint replacement surgeries.
Guess I  did him in, as he is retiring in December.

I love having the stash for all seasons.
50 years of fabric collecting..

The physical therapist told me today that I was overdoing it.
She said I had had trauma physically and emotionally and had to slow down.
OK already OK....I usually have two speeds...fast and stop.
She promised that every week she will give me hope.
I am so grateful for people who encourage me on.

TED talks....We do not move on from grief

Project bag again...PT and more

A very tiring day led me to make another project bag just so I could get it right.

I used my favorite African fabric

No matter how I try...mistakes happen.
This glitter vinyl was brought to me by Cousin Ann from London.

Zipper pull from sale section of Michael's jewelry department

Another mistake...I should have put the handles on from the back.

This bag finished 14.5 by 14.5 inches.
The changes of 3 inch binding was perfect.
I hated to use my favorite fabric...really???

My girl and her man and her dog took some ferry from their camp site and
ended up camping on a Canadian island.

Rosie will be one year old tomorrow....
My girl is making her doggie cupcakes to share at the dog park.

I will not worry.....I will not worry...Ok..I will not.

Now, my 36 year old daughter has decided to go hiking and camping with her dog and

two girl friends for two nights....

Really????
 Why can't she sew....it is so much safer.!!!!!

What about the bears??  What about the perverts??

Oh, Mother...just chill.

Good thing I did not worry...as now there are 4 women and 3 dogs going on the trip.
I am exhausted just thinking about it.

Actually physical therapy exhausted me today...2 hours of new stuff.
OMG  The PT must think I am 30 instead of over the hill..
I went out to a nice lunch, to Hobby Lobby and now to bed.
I am getting better..
xo

The Project Bag and the Titanic

The Project Bag
The front, with clear vinyl...using my Australian fabrics.

I buy my zippers on Zipit.
 Sometimes they will include a cute little zipper pull in the bag.

The back of my project bag..another Australian fabric.

My project bag ended up 15" x14"
I like this way, because it is just bound and there is no
yucky turn inside out with vinyl.
Here are some other tutes I found online.
Crafty Gemini project bag tute
Project bag
Project box Fat Quarter Shop
https://www.modabakeshop.com/2018/03/vinyl-project-pouch.html

The added handle is very convenient
This was my first time making this project....Next time, I would make the binding 3 inches instead of 2.5"
Because, when I needed to trim the vinyl to fit the binding, I cut off my mitered edges...ugh.
I needed then to do some zig-zag repair.
I would for sure, use my walking foot for most everything but the zipper.
My bag is a bit wrinkled on top because I was not thinking.

The children are home from their fun beach vacation...no drama...just fun.

Evan bought himself a present...a dead baby shark in a jar...OMG  Age..14???

My son just killed a snake in our garage...all the kids were screaming as he cut off the head.

Online we went to see different kinds of snakes...so not my idea of fun.

Evan then kept coming in my sewing room telling my Alexa to play Jingle Bells at high volume.

Dear me...driven to the drink...OK..water...but still.

Grateful, I found where my son hides the double stuff Oreos.

The new swing is up now for the children...the old was full of mildew and ripped.

On the 4th..Eamon saw that I was sad...After the sparklers...when I went to bed...My son had put new linens on my bed and had made it up nicely with the pretty quilts.  When I got up in the morning, I found he had made sugar cookies...This is real love and joy!!

I have made some very nice friends lately...Folks who understand pain and grief..
Also, back at the pool, I feel more human.
Tonight I was able to use the steps instead of the wheelchair ramp...a miracle
at a my meeting.

Evidently my darling grands watched the Titanic at the beach with their mother.
At home now, they have dressed up for a Titanic party before the ship sinks...

You know this is all Lynsey's idea...her brother Dylan...goes along for the ride.

They are so close.  Lynsey is already worrying that in a year, she will have to go
to middle school without him...as he is one year behind her.
An eventful weekend...Big brother at a sleepover...The other two are getting
ready for summer camp tomorrow.
I am getting ready for some Mrs. O'Quilts relaxation and fun.

Red White Blue: the Process

The Charlotte Quilters Guild has an outreach for Veterans in wheelchairs.
The size for these quilts is about 36 inches by 43 inches.
Today I finished this top....the Disappearing Nine Patch

Specialty fabric:

This is an easy pattern....wait...not so much.
Making the colors and value work is the challenge.

At first, I hated it...not you, Mrs. O'Quilts...so not you..
This flimsy is just a busy mess.

Lets see what else I can do to it.to make it work.

I decided on a blue border...wrong....decided on a red border...nope..
It needed.the white for character and a place for the eyes to rest...
The backing was certainly going to be blue...
Alas, the cream flags cut the busyness of the piece.  And on it went, just like any quilt..
Color gets the credit and value does the work.
Trial and error...never give up!!..Even now, the quilt is not a quilt until it is bound and quilted.

That Holiday Feeling

My favorite 4th..quilts:

Above my computer...the vintage hexies I appliqued for a flimsy

still unfinished.

Scraps put into strippy quilts...Of course I forgot to display this year.

Here I am, making blocks for my veteran wheelchair quilt outreach.

Meanwhile in  Portland...Rosie and the flag.

My girl and her man and her dog...camping for the 4th...

Portland strong...

Trying to figure the celebration of the Fourth of July as I sit here alone.

With great inspiration from my friend, Kathylynn, I decided to make my own celebration.

This consisted of a Nathan  hot dog and some watermelon...a good book outside under the tree...and chocolate ice cream in 7 up....as my mother taught me.
I was working on a good frame of mind.

So far so good...a big shout out to Kathylynn and Sherry and the 3 hour very fun dinner last night.

Today...my son was gone in the morning and evening.  During the afternoon He fixed the handle in my car, a chair in my sewing room, the dishes and laundry.
.I am so grateful for him.and for his friends who helped make his recovery possible.

When he leaves...and the children are gone....,
 black desperation comes sneaking in...I am missing my man so much.

 I refused to watch television today..
.I way prefer laughter and family and bar-be-cue to military displays.

This knee replacement operation triggered fury, despair and grief... not so good...ugh...

My knee is healing nicely...tomorrow PT and the pool.
I am grateful that.....
With the dawn comes a clearer light.

PS....Our dear Michele...Is going thru a tough time now.
With Hearts and Hands...
She deserves some love and support...xoxoxo

PS  PS   My son just came home and saw me so sad..
We went outside and  LOOK...Sparklers!!!!....My favorite..

Love..xoxo