MQG Block in the Box results...

Thursday night I had fun at Charlotte's Modern Quilt Guild.  My girl Emily and our dear organizer Kristen held down the fort here at home.
 Whenever I go to this guild, I feel the friendship of quilters envelop me.  People have such good hearts there and sew great things with great ideas.
Last year we started the "Block in a Box" block exchange.  Thursday night was the grand reveal.  Here are the blocks from my fabrics.  They are on this little design wall since my girl has her project on the big design wall:)  LOL

 Last night Emily and I had a sew in. (all three kids were at a Karate camp...6 to 10pm)
 Happy is me.
  We have both my Janomes set up...We called in dinner and got tons of sewing done.  I finished two baby changing pads and she finished 9 blocks in her project..  Today I have four more changing pads cut out.

The other night I could not sleep.  I was obsessing about things I could not control, forgetting that I was not in charge in this life.

So, at 2 am, I decided to read through some of my mother's poetry books.  In Circle of Love, I found this:

Then It Happened

The moon rolled over

turned out the light

covered itself with

a blanket of night.

 Well, my mother spoke to me that night, as I got such a tickle from the poem, I fell right asleep

Friendship and Stuff

 A gift of friendship.  This quilt, idea from a Tula Pink quilt, is totally a friendship quilt.  Most of the fabric was a gift from Katie G.  The strips were cut and sewn at Mugg's beach retreat.  And it was long-arm quilted by Mary Jerz of Seamless Expressions.  A big thanks to all my friends for cheering me on as I made this happy quilt.  I so tried to get a good picture of it, but....This is the best I could do.  Shame that the photos do not do it justice.  It is very pretty.

My girl making yummy tortellini soup...so yummy..

This is a Hoyer Lift.  It arrived today and when the technical guy was showing us how to use it, I got concussion symptoms.  How strong and helpful is that?????  Jeeze Louize!

 Oh, yes...Art Gallery Fabrics are my favorite!!!

Can You Believe it...and Prince Pat

Friends are sometimes just sunshine on a cloudy day...Block two for Muggs at the beach house.

Cousin Ann and Cousin Pat have gone home to London.  In their wake are such good feelings and uplifted souls.  We totally love Ann...but Prince Pat takes the cake.  Can you believe that he fixed things in the house, made us dinner, took the kids to Karate and to McDonald's afterwards...alone!!!  And, then...He told us to go for a girls' night out to dinner while he watched the fort. Unbelievable and amazing.  Talk about caregiver respite. I was totally relaxed, and that hardly ever happens any more.  There are not many folks who can make it happen like that .  A big thanks to Ann and Pat.  We love you so.

 Can you believe it...I have TWO finishes...I am so glad, as I am way, way behind on baby quilts and other gifts...way way behind.

 Of course the whole crew helped with the snipping...and only two holes were made..lol..cough..lol

  Em took the two oldest to the apple orchard today...here they are with apple donuts and apple cider..Nice to have a wonderful auntie:)

Mr.O'Quilts told me today that now his arms are getting weaker and holding his soup bowl is harder.  Now, he has to put the bowl on the table and lean over to it.  He came in to the quilting room to give me a kiss and he said that I would have to stand up to get it, because if he leaned forward, his core muscles are so wasted, that he would fall out of the wheelchair.  Believe me I jumped for it, a kiss is nice anyway you can get it!

Running away from home...

Or, taking Cousin Ann on an outing with the four F's...Fun, Fabric, Family and Friends!!!

 Today's IQTO (Tuesday outing)   was to Mary Jo's cloth store in Gastonia, NC and to Sew Much Fun.  Here is our Jean meeting up with us for the first time since her surgery.

No, she is not working...but giving expert advice to Cousin Ann:)

Here is the fat quarter gang... Ninjas and Love

Some Kaffe

 Some Paisley

 

 and out of focus Zombies...of course!!

 Cousin Pat held down the fort with Granddaddy, made dinner and met the school bus!!!  Yeah cousin Pat.  Without you...there would have not been Sew Much Fun!

Thunder now...perfect for sleep.

Cousin Ann from London town...She is here!!

 Last year when cousin Ann came..she had never even dreamed of quilting.  One year later...here she is visiting again...an accomplished quilter!!!  Yeah!! another convert...She showed up today fresh in from London with her man and a quilt she had made for me.  How wonderful is this, no one hardly ever makes a quilt for me...

 She even did a creative backing.

 And, a creative label!!

 A mouse pincushion present from Liberty..Thank you soooo much.  I love you Ann.

 Next convert is Kristen, the sitter....the quilt room organizer...the brilliant senior in high school who is steadily amassing enough college credits for free at the junior college.  I gave Kristen my scrap basket..soon she showed up with these scrap blocks stuffed in her jeans pocket.  I love you Kristen!!!

Thank you Emily for the funny!!
And...ES...You know how I appreciate your comments.  Email me pls so I have your email address.  Also, if you click on any picture you will get a close up of it.
Today fall came...my favorite season...The first crisp bit of air after a gruesome summer.  Hope!!!

The Adreneline Rush

I do not want anyone to think that I am a slacker...hmmm...So last night my wonderful Wednesday night group basted these two quilt tops that I finished.  TBTG, Adreneline gets me quilting...sometimes..(:

 This is the backing

 Voila, the remnants of a special quilt I have not shown yet....Here are the scraps..lol, already in a quilt

 and the backing.

 My son has earned a few hours out of his treatment program.  Here we are in a well received visitation.

 Little Missy here does well in Karate...good thing, says Granddaddy....because she is a bit full of herself!!

Mr. O'Quilts had his first fall today.  He was transferring in the bathroom and boom onto the floor.  TBTG my daughter was here...It took the three of us to get him onto the potty as his legs do not work at all..being dead weight.  His bulbar area is now affected with the ALS.  He can no longer project his voice, so I did not hear him as I worked in the kitchen, when he called out to me. 

 As they say, "All's well as ends well".... and it did end well. 

 However, the adreneline is still going strong in all of us as we enter a new phase where I no longer feel that my man can safely be left alone.

Reading Between the Lines

From Lori's cool tute comes this top I just finished:

I started using her pattern because I could not think to create myself.  However, in short order I became me again and did a bit of ad lib....

I love how it turned out.  I do not know why I have gone nuts about buying new fabric, when my favorites are the scrap ones.

Today was all about doom and gloom until:

 from gratefulness.org came this message to me.

WORD FOR THE DAY
Monday, Sep. 1

It is a huge danger to pretend that awful things do not happen. But you need enough hope to keep going. I am trying to make hope. Flowers grow out of darkness.

Corita Kent

1.  At the ALS clinic on Friday, the good doctor told Mr. O'Quilts that he has now lost 50% of his swallowing ability.  Everything is pureed now.
2.  The Mr and I went to Hong Kong on our honeymoon 34 years ago.
3.  My dear man and I used to work at the Miccosukee Indian reservation.  We would drive for an hour through the Everglades in Florida to the reservation.  Himself was the tribe counselor and I was the school counselor.  I had to work through an interpreter, avoiding eye contact with the elders as was their custom.  Alligators galore.

3.   I went on a 5 week language study program to what was then the Soviet Union when I was 21 years old.  That year all the women wore red and purple rain boots.  Evidently that was all that was available.  I fell in love with Georgian bread and the subway.
Just FYI...lol  ps..if this is a repeat...pls forgive...
xxoo my friends!

ps if when you make a comment I do not answer, it is because I am overwhelmed...It does not mean I do not cherish your comments...cuz I so do!