Cannot Keep a Good Grandma Down.

My evening project, a hot iron holder.

The casing is filled with elastic..about 7 and a half inches, pulled tight.

 Cute iron fabric.  a gift from niece, Brenda...many moons ago.
How perfect is this for my hot iron holder.?

 Pink iron fabric is right sides together..turned with a casing.
Small plate for the double Insul-Brite and larger pan for the fabric.

Measuring for my little iron.

This was the tutorial I found, but I did not follow it.

I did use his tested idea of double Insul-Brite to protect the hot iron.

Then I winged it...not too successfully, but, I have what I need.

Tomorrow, I will make the velcro cord holder.

hot iron holder with Man Quilting

Here we go with Tula #20

And Tula # 21


Notes to self.
You are old and retired...understanding the way.
Letting go of my professional license..
Tying it with a ribbon...good job, well done..for 40 years.

Just like I did long ago with my 20 years of travel with Pan Am
Wrapped that all up too..with a bow,  the experiences like no other.
People met, countries seen, excitement remembered.

 How to redefine myself now.???
From: Brene Brown, Rising Strong
comes the idea of badassery
In a good way, of course.
Standing up for your beliefs.
At my age, I can be a badass, if I want.
Advocating  and fighting for the good.
In the sweetest way possible...wahoo
Stay tuned.

The World According to O'Quilts

Warm and cuddly, batted with wool...a perfect thank you gift.
All DONE💙

 Backing is bats...color was right, person could be a bit batty, like all of us.😲😱

 One of the last days before school starts...I found the two littles..."studying??"

Of course not..U-tubing.. and actually getting  along...So grateful.
I see Granddaddy's old  laptop getting a workout.

This morning was open house..meet the teachers...My grands were thrilled that both parents came.
They put their differences and their own feelings aside, for their children's sake.
I am way proud of them... Wonderful!!

I love the school and they love us...the best staff...the best teachers.

My son has been working.

Yesterday, he took Evan, the 13 year old to help him cut down a tree.

Today, he took Dylan, the 8 year old to an outside painting job.
This weekend he has two jobs lined up...
Gas money and helping his mother money.!!

I love our Orkin man, Derrick.

I said...Derrick...What if this does not last with my son????

Derrick said...What if it does???

xo

Fall weather is here for two days...I have been outside reading, Flight Behavior, by Kingsolver.

She is one of my favorite writers.

Her books are like a delicious pastry, needing to be savored a bit at a time.

Joy is being under my tree in the backyard, dog and cat at my feet.
Children with their parents.

Me napping, reading and breathing deeply.

For dying of a broken heart is not a literal thing.

It is just about not giving a damn any more, thus ignoring self-care.
Friends try to encourage, but nothing works if you are not yet ready to care.
My 5 life changing events of the past few years are incomprehensible, even to me.

In the constant drive to clean my sewing room,
 often a surprise pops out from my own personal fabric detritus.

Voila a fat quarter pack reminding me of a time growing up in Arizona.

Where did this come from??

Tula #19   This one was not fun...why I am still doing this?

Addiction, just like Oreos💙

And then my great son...whew....
See, he has not really been around for the past 5 years...He is so guilty about that.
Now, his children cannot get enough of him.
Wooosh...there goes the schedule Stephanie and I have had them on,
like forever.....
Eamon struggle to set boundaries and his children push.
And old Grandma O'Quilts has an awesome sewing room with doors that shut!!

Life is good!!  It is about to get better on Monday, when school starts xo

Lazy Boo just came out of bed for a peek at the world.
He is sick and tired of Stitch getting all the photo ops!!
But, not enough to make an effort.
I'm Into Something Good

More O'Quilts Stuff

Look what I found in a project box...

The blocks are now on the design wall.

I see that a few more are all ready pinned.

It is such a fun thing to find a WIP/UFO

It somehow  looks nicer months years later.

 Tula #18

 My son cooking pork chops last night for dinner.

 Tonight Dylan helped with the potatoes and squash.

This morning 4 of us from our widows quilting group.(.another name to come soon).

worked on outreach quilts for Hospice.  

Union Co Hospice had put out on Facebook that they needed some lap quilts...

Our new group is on it..

.Funny, I used to work there...20 years ago.

We now have two lap quilts in progress.

Outstanding work my friends...

 A little nap for me and then the grands came home...

I love them so....but...

I am so tired...and my nerves are shot!!!

Thank God my son is here to help me now.

I told him that he did not have to do all this work around here.

He said...Mom, I am so glad to help ..
I know I should have been doing this 5 years ago.!!

It is funny how when the tsunami comes and I think I am drowning, 

around the next corner could be a brilliant surprise to save the day.

My son, Eamon....Thank you so much, just for today.

Friends with Strings Attached...

Eager to post my Tula progress:
Tula  #16

Tula #17...Sorry Tula, this block was so not me...I had to consult with Kaffe.

Christmas in August....started the other night here at the house.
It was a family affair..We stuffed with rice, the hot/ cold bean bags
(made with spare charms sewn together)
for the teachers at the elementary school.
We give them a big basket early December.
Some microwave them for warm hands during bus duty.
The nurse has a freezer full for little boo-boos...

 At my sewing bee today, I sewed closed 85 of them.
All ready for holiday giving....sooo proud!!
That Stitch has to have his nose in everything I do!!!!

And I mean strings attached...I had thread all over me from sewing for 6 hours.
A fun quilting day with the Guild ...
Kathy fixing my machine...Little Blue..
She has one just like it...Blue Bell.
Sewing, sewing ...all day long...

And, Linda...oh, that friend Linda....
brought me parts of the bolts she bought at Foust.
Surprise fabric...
Making me...unbelievably happy....Just gotta show it all to you.

Someone asked if we would ever be able to use up our stash.
We went on about...Would you ask a stamp or coin collector to
use their collection????
And then dear Linda..said...or their gun collection..bang...OMG
Twas just a brilliant day.

Amazing Grace

Tula...15...end of the crosses...

 More on the parts department...found four patches

 Double four patches...rather drab...but not done yet.

Scrap potholder fun

Cotton and Steel baby quilt...

A quilt is never finished before the binding...so stay tuned.

Can you believe that this navy polka-dot material is from a dress when I was 43..I was

slim and somewhat adorable then...or that is what my dear man said..😍😍

That being 100 years ago...good memories...Ha..

So on a roll today...

One of the very few days in years that there was no maudlin behavior on my part.

Amazing...

Was it that this extrovert went out on a 3 hour lunch with understanding fellow travelers?

Was it the energy I got from being out and about, so that I could sew up a storm tonight?.

Was it that the two littles stayed with their mother so Evan could have a two guy sleepover.?

The three 13 year olds are being sooo good. 

 I gave them $20 and took them to the grocery store to pick out their dinner.

They could not go over the $20..including tax.and they all had to agree...

Ha Ha, they loved it.

Home came two $3 frozen pizzas...sodas and chips...

They made their dinner and cleaned up.

Was it that a dearest of friends is making life so much easier for me?.

Quandary mitigated...TBTG

Was it that another friend shared with me?

Somehow, today there was no whine that I was last man standing with little family.

Today was the family I made for myself with friends..

Today was for sure...a God thing day...

Red wine in a jelly jar.

Aretha Franklin, Amazing Grace

The Parts Department and More

My dear Stitch.....I do understand!

 Except for the way Stitch does it...relaxation is all about the parts department..

Sewing scrap strips together for still another fun project.

 A yellow nine patch

Cleaning my space, 

I found a few leftover green triangles..

I could not let them be....

Bagged now with Christmas parts.

 Orphan blocks from another quilt...
Cotton and Steel..

And now...voila...
 A new shelf for my past overindulgences
My son drove to IKEA and brought back
this $29 shelf...to help with my mess...He and the children assembled it..
.My guess is that this shelf
will not stay so pretty for too long...
Just for today, it is fun to pretend that it will never look like the one next to it.

Of course,  I knew it...after working on parts,
the place is another disaster...sigh...
My grandmother said, "Creative Minds are Rarely Tidy"

The gift continues to be my son and the miracle he brings.
So far...he has repaired the chain saw to cut down the old apple tree...
He has a job Tuesday taking someone else's tree down. Today, he cut someone's grass.
Unfortunately, this is all using my only car.
He takes care of his kids, he plays with them, he helps them with their rooms,
He cooks for them, he cleans the kitchen, he does laundry, he does the garbage.
He does my yard, he replaced the burned out head light in my car and put in oil,
He makes me laugh, he made me pancakes when I cried.
It is a miracle.
He has been driving my car to meetings and to jobs, but I cannot let this be
I have to have my car...especially with Dylan so allergic to bees and fire ants.
Wishing so much that there was a junky car that runs, for $1500 to $2000
I have little money, but cannot see him taking two buses and a train for 3 hours
 to get where he needs to go. Especially when he is doing so well..
He told me that he could have had several construction jobs last week if he had only had wheels.

And, with all his help, how can I send him back on the bus to his ripped tent into the woods.
We all love him so.
When he spends the night, I find all three kids in the room with him at night.
What to do??  What to do?
Since money is tight, it is one day at a time..
Being spiritual...and waiting for the light.
So much gratitude for this splendid surprise in my life.

I thought that these two links were interesting...xo

From Go Go KIm...taking yellow out of plastic
rock painting...underwear?

Happy Grandma O'Quilts having good friends....

A marvelous sit and sew today with a friend.

I finished Tula's block 14..one more and the cross section is done

Finished 9 potholders....!!!

After paying big bucks to karate, tomorrow is the last day.
It ends with stunt camp.
Dylan acted out and had to be sent home...guess it is his way of showing
frustration at leaving karate after 4 and a half years.
Lynsey is sobbing..She spent half her life going to karate..
Bad grandma just ran out of money.

Tuesday was an awesome trip to the Foust sale with my quilting buddies.

Peacefully driven by the genius of the group...Sherry.

She also brought my bedroom smart TV down to my sewing room and set it up for me,
since we had to cancel cable.

xxoo

My budget allowed me two awesome bags of scraps for $5 each.

The true mother-lode as these fabrics were squeezed into tiny ziplock baggies.
They are fat-eights and not quite fat quarters...amazing.

Then, on to the thread store for Muggs finishing it off with
Soup and salad at the Olive Garden.
Fun is exhausting😄

Thank God for my friends....Look what Paula did for the kids.

She shopped, bought and mailed all Evan's school supplies!! (from Greensboro!!!)

And, she added crayons and markers and coloring backpacks to make the little ones happy.

I cannot believe that in 2.5 weeks, we will have an 8th grader, a 3rd grader and a 4th grader..

Amazing!!

Evan has finished one of  his summer readings, The Hunger Games

Lynsey is online daily with a multiplication game.

Dylan reads to one of us each night..

We are going to make it !!! All with a little help (a lot) from our friends.xo

My son cleaned the mildew off the brick sidewalk so  no one will slip and fall..
The children's mother bought the back to school clothes
 and shoes for the boys.
My son said he had a few day construction job coming up and would be able to have the children's hair cut for school...

Sooo grateful..
Nice to hear some good news instead of all doom and gloom

Dear sweet Eithne brought this oilcloth back from Ireland for me.
Cats and Celtic knots...just lovely.

 All hard to photo.but lovely to have.  What to make???
Bags?? Wipe easy cloths for the table?  Pouches?

I am such a lucky Grandma O'Quilts.
A happy post today