A Long Way from Home

Lost and found....The skirt I bought for my daughter 30 years ago when my man and I worked counseling positions on the Miccosukee Indian reservation in Florida

 A Guatemalan dress

More Guatemala pieces

Hand stitched vintage Molas from Panama

Smaller Molas

Pieces from India

I know that somewhere, I also have cloth from Mexico and Istanbul.
Good thing I lost the parts to my bag...or I never would have found these things.
Really, maybe they should all have been in one place.
And...more of the non-stop, everlasting purple Rail Fence challenge.
I already have two pieces started with this.

A child's apron my grandmother made in Swedish colors.

I might put this into my WIP Swedish flag quilt.

It looks like tomorrow is February...so I will not have any more finishes for January

Instead more things to start and another dishevelment.

UGH..now my sewing room is an awful terrible no-good mess again..
Next time around,  I hope God gives me two gifts...organizational skills and music.
I just read still another article on saving everything....lets use it up ...so now more ideas besides the chair....Unfortunately, now I need an extension on my house to store my treasures..
Remember, my latest lesson...no trailer hitch on the hearse!!!!

So Not a Potholder Post

When Eamon came out the other night with "potholders" from the garage.

This is what he was talking about: 3 UFO's left by my daughter.

Some were together and some I put together.

Spiderweb block..maybe a beginning to a medallion quilt?

Hour glass...almost all ready, guess Em tired of it....

AMH disappearing nine patch...I put the blocks together..

Thursday night Dylan and I spent alone...Sewing time.

He learned to make bobbins!!!! Here he is picking out colors.

A fast learner...and he loved it..When can we make more, Grandma????

ANYTIME dear Dylan....anytime.. He turns 10 in a few weeks...I want him to know sewing before he gets older...His brother stopped sewing in 7th grade.

In one sitting...Thank you Dylan

Wednesday night work by Carol

Wednesday night show and tell by Kathylynn

Marie's monkey quilt.

Here it is again...Granddaddy's beloved chair.

I tried to get rid of it, but oh, no...Now it has been moved right into the living room.

Grandma!!!!  You cannot get rid of Granddaddy's chair....!!!!

In looking for one thing...eg the last parts for my linen bag...

I found clothes of mine from Guatemala...Let me tell you my hippie days and my movie star days are way over!!! Yet, I have kept these for like 40 years...I bought a chair cover for $15 on Zulily. Now, I am going to cover that cover with my Guatemala fabric, patchwork style...Lets see how that goes...

Again...while looking for X ..here comes Y.

I found a rustic fat quarter pack or two from an estate sale...maybe 2 years ago.

Lunch today with good friends at The New Zealand Cafe...an interesting sushi/ tempura place.

Of course I needed to be picked up because :

I HAVE NO CAR!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow I get the car...taking Lynsey to sewing class and then errands with the girl.

Her birthday is coming up soon.  She has asked for exercise clothes?????

Exercise is quite foreign to this grandma...but, OK

Girls don't wear dresses any more Grandma, and I want to run track.

Fifth grade and almost 11.

PS  Stitch and Boo would like to share the news:

The O'Quilt family has mice.

Who is excited now????

Stay tuned.

The Crabby One Without a Car

Playing with rope to keep my sanity.

Last night I pulled out the rope instead of the chocolate and wine

Making these coasters worked quite well to calm my nerves

 I used African prints...which I will never do again...I mean the real deal waxed prints.

They did not show the affect that I wanted and they frayed something awful..

At first I liked the busy one, but at the end, it was the one with negative space that I preferred.

I could not stop... I guess I thought if the coasters relaxed me...a bowl would be even better!

The other day, my son found a box of what he called, "potholders"!! After all these years of being my son, one would think that he not be uninitiated!!  Grrr.

Instead of potholders, it was full of left over blocks from my daughter...back in the day.

I put the blocks together...only to find out I had made a mistake.

What annoys me is the two center green blocks together...

It irritates me to have made an error, but not enough to take it out.

Whatever child it goes to...guaranteed...will not be bothered.

I hate being so isolated without a car...We extroverts get our energy from being with people.

Crabby McNasty...here...

However, I would have been in a worse state if I had paid $300 a week to rent one.

Main problema here...I cannot get away from myself.

 I am going to set up some time away, if my son can chill for awhile.

 I am between a rock and a hard place...He needs my car to go look for cars.

And, he needs to continue to do some jobs in order to pay for the car..

A nice sunny spring day would help!!!

Alas, it is still January.

 I have been trying to organize my sewing room...hopefully to find the missings.

That Old Circle Goes Round and Round

The hopeful ones:  Boo and Stitch

Knowing that life hangs on a slender thread, I too, am hopeful.

I seized the day and put this round bottom in my bag.  I have been

avoiding this forever.  A few puckers, but not too bad.

Emboldened by this success, I decided to whip this bag up for a finish.

I found the lining....Alas, I cannot find the lining bottom....hmmm...and I had

readied a fob for the inside...lost...Really.?????..round and round I go.

Instead, I found this squirrel of my mother's and an odd doll shoe.

I did the entire project having lost my clips...Oh, yesterday I relocated them..

Here, in plain sight, are two bowls of clips beside my extra thread.

Please to my quilty friends, If I complain about lost clips...remind me..

My grandmother knew me well.  She embroidered this for me.

I was looking all over for this so I could post it.....
I found it on the wall HERE:

Once again, Thank you to my grandmother....She had been through hard times in her almost 100 years.  When I was living in New York City, working with the airlines and traveling the world...She would say to me...Be careful of your money...you may have it now, but tomorrow is another day.

Here I am , thinking of her and grateful for what she taught me.. She was a great cook, making a tasty something out of seemingly nothing. Quite the prudent one.

My son and I are sharing one car until he can find an affordable one for himself...This Sunday morning, I went to Aldi for food, as he slept, Every moment of everyday, I am grateful that I can walk without pain. However, I must look quite ancient and feeble, since others seem to rush to help me.

Today, at the store, an older lady picked up something I had dropped...and once I was at my car, she insisted on loading my car for me...and she did!!  She said, Just like I do for my mother....Wow..

Once home, the "grandma" thing kicked in...For $6, I had bought a whole chicken; for $7, a package of ground beef...The chicken went into the pot for boiling; the ground beef went into the frying pan for saute.  In an hour and a half, I had 6 packages of ground beef ready for the freezer.  I had 6 packages of shredded chicken ready too.   This way, I can grab and add to veggies, pasta, soup...whatever...for the dinners for the now, family of 5 people I am caring for.

There is a certain satisfaction teaching these things to the children...knowing that  no matter what, they will be able to be self-sufficient.  Me thinks Mr O'Quilts would be proud of me...

I have had this magazine picture since college.
Using vinyl for the pocket and old porch screen for the bag..I use it often, thinking of
MY grandmother...the other day, Lynsey said..
There you are Grandma!!!!!
So there we are...
I am now going to work with rope to forget what I have forgotten

A Sewing Day and a Sewing Night

On the 25th day of January,  a true friend gave to me....

a pair of hand knitted wool socks.for an infant.  

I might just put them on my design wall to admire.

They are art!!!

She made these to sell in the boutique of the Charlotte Quilt Show in March.

But, I got a gift of one , crazy colors and beautiful work...

Linda's intricate knitted shawl.

A great day today sewing with friends at the Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild Sit and Sew.

I did nothing creative....just four patches for my parts department..

Lynsey had sewing lessons with Tawney today.  She and Ginny finished their monsters.
Lynsey made hers in flannel to be cuddly...My guess is that she will share it with her little sister.

A gifted swatch for a potholder.

Home now, making binding.

In my exuberance, I cut too much off this sweatshirt.

I cut off the bottom too...ugh...Well..another chance for a

design challenge, said Patti!!

Indeed, I do not have a serger, so I used two stitches on my machine that I had never before used...to finish that bottom bit.  That was interesting...
I am watching the evening news against my better judgment...
Avoiding making this bag...

Well I got sick of the news: murders, car accidents...ugh.
Soooo...I did the next step on this bag.
When I am finished, I will just throw away the pattern...
This linen bag may turn out OK...but not worth the work.

Tomorrow is a day of rest...
ZZZZZZZZZ

Patterns by Jen, January Yellow Linky Party

The New Year's Me is trying this out...

Let's see if I can figure it out!!!

Patterns by Jen...January Linky Party

A High Beam Kind of Day

I used to think that this was an invasion...but, now that I am better, I see it as comfort.
I am tidying up and they are helping each other on this computer building program.

Today is my son's 35th birthday...Evan made the cake, he used some of his Santa stocking chocolate sprinkles on it and buried Oreos in the bottom.  Can you believe that my son ordered pre-made canned frosting from the store, instead of my yummy homemade kind...OMG
Lynsey wrapped the presents...6 shirts in different colors...on sale for $4 each at Walmart...and it was still fun.  All the children, on their own with no prodding, made cards saying the things they loved about their father...A great birthday party.
My son had a very hard , frustrating day today...
Love on his birthday helped him a lot.

Thank you Kathy-Lynn for the tulips...I just love tulips.
I just heard that the Quilt show coming up in March is looking for barn stars
for a barn star section...Glad mine is not yet up on the barn!!!!

And Christmas...in January and every day if you want...

One more week of January...I am hoping to get in another quilty finish..So making up for lost time.
Problema:   I cannot find the pattern directions for my bag...Looking for that, I found this instead.
Another story of my life.
In 1969 I was living in New York City, working for the airlines...I loved it.  Walking toward Macy's on the upper east side, I stopped in Alexander's Department Store...There I found two of these.
 On sale, of course.
I see on the label, that they are by Gloria Vanderbilt.  Tonight I put a strap on one of them, in order to carry some sewing supplies..
That year I had just graduated from college, a quick 3 year stint..,I was ready for the big world.
I have never been good at math...but me thinks that this is now 51 years old...vintage...ha!!

Just found the bag instructions, but I think it is a bit late to start.
The rains are coming in tonight, again.
Lynsey and I will be crafting tomorrow.
Saturday, she has sewing lessons and I have MQG sit and sew
The boys will be at their mother's

We are down to one car again....ugh...My son needs another cheap car;  This is so ongoing.
Meantime we have to share. Hopefully, that will be short term.

It is a new,crazy way of living to only have money for a $3,000 car...which then breaks and he needs another $3,000 car..Sigh..stress is so upon me.
However,
An organization we love gave a year membership for the children..
I am so grateful...kind and generous hearts...
I have delightfully determined this to be a very good day.