My Soul is Saved by Fabric Art

My soul had better be saved by fabric art...cuz there are riots tonight in Charlotte.
Right across from the Art High School where my children went to school
Looting, police in riot gear...OMG..

Just go sew....Grabbing fabric strips to sew...random, brain free sewing.
Also 4 inch patches...one to another for a future four patch.

Stress here...school is the worst...Isolation is next..money is next..
However, I am working on being more like Boo
Just look how he relaxes.

The other day , it was two am...

Hopefully I was smart enough not to post something stupid at this hour.

I have done that before...

The children are having a hard time missing the structure of school

They miss their friends.  They miss other family members.

They cling to us.  They stay up too late.

We stay up too late.

My son is now handling his stress by changing the oil in our cars.

I am making masks and cloth napkins.
That was yesterday.

Today, I am getting a grip.  Zoe and I chilling on the screened-in-porch.
Reading and breathing under shelter, in the rain.

 Blueprint is going out of business....OMG one more thing..Thank goodness for now..Creative Bug is still around...for how long??  I am itching to know..

Karen, send me your email address so I can thank you properly for my blog comment.
The napkin making is an old idea, new to me.
I make them one sided, just hem the edges.  Some folks serge the edges, but that
is not for me.  It is really a perfect, no think project for these times.
I hope you start sewing again soon.
Even simple napkin making is life saving.
And life saving is priceless..

Hello Sunshine, Behind the Clouds

Long time coming is making sewing weights.

I have tweaked this Tutorial:

Beautiful Things

My son used the glue gun for the washers and had them ready for me in minutes.
There are two washers glued together for each weight..
The washers are about one and a half inches or one and 3/4 inches.

Batiks scraps were used here...both because they are beautiful.also, they do not fray.

Sew with a zipper foot very close to the washer...on slow machine speed.
If you loose focus...ha ha.no one I know does that!!!
and do not keep the zipper foot right along the edge of the washer, you will get
stitching that is out of line...see the yellow one below at the 10 o'clock position.

The glue gun was used to hold the washers together, but I used a
glue stick to keep the fabric on.
First I tried cutting them with a pinking blade in my rotary cutter.
That was a disaster.  The pinking shears worked better.
I love them...so adorable.
Lynsey just said:  "Grandma, Dylan and I are doing crafts now,
Can we borrow your new weights to hold our paper down".
OMG

I have replaced the green thread on this bowl with natural.
I like it much better this way.

Charlotte has opened to stage two.  My son says it is like a real
Memorial Day weekend....the roads are packed.
Not for us.  The O'Quilts Family is staying  home.

Calming the Covid Roller Coaster

Covid 19 roller coaster had my panties in a twist today.
OMG  OMG  OMG
Just could not get focused....
Started looking thru new things on Creative Bug.
Found this....She had some great ideas, techniques...to improve my bowl making.
Nicole Blum on Creative Bug
I used variegated green on the bottom, made handles and tried the knot thing she suggested.
Nothing like a picture on the blog to show my errors.
I am going to go over the string on the knot with more green...and of course
the multitude of strings need to be snipped.

Once a certain 10 year old gets off the computer, creativity kicks in.
By himself, he made an airplane from popsicle sticks.
I had just given away stray popsicle sticks to the art teacher when
Dylan decides it is his new hobby.

Calming myself with :
Bob Marley, No Woman, No Cry
Bob Marley, Everything's Going to Be Alright

I wonder if anyone else is going nuts...or am I the only extrovert reaching deep within her soul,
struggling to practice the strength of my husband and my mother.

Grandma O'Quilts Takes an Exciting Turn...

Excitement...Today came my rope from Amazon Prime.
They had been sold out forever.
Lucky me, it came in two weeks..

If it would stop raining in Charlotte, I would try to dye some rope.
Guess I will use this pan...without the handle..sigh...

Holding on tight to my history.

We left our home on Cape Cod when I was eight years old...
With us came this favorite pot which is at least 64 years old..

It used to be a pressure cooker...now only a favorite pan.

We called it the "fudge" pot...in which we made Grandma's special family recipe..

Sherry and her husband fixed the handle about 10 years ago.

My son has tried twice this past week to fix it again.

Last night the handle just rotted and fell off.

Bye Bye Birdie....Bye Bye

Contrary to my wishes, things do not last forever.

This current crisis...sent me here...
Making cloth napkins instead of buying paper ones.
I made mine different sizes, depending on the scraps...12"" to 15".
Actually I was persuaded by a blog, which one, I forgot..
MPat and Mary Lou are my role models...
I am quite late to the party.

The excitement tonight was my escape.
I went for a drive alone...away from my noisy household!!
Thought maybe I would just drive by Trader Joe's to see what I could see.
No line.
Only a few cars in the lot....
My handicap spot was open.
Meant to be!!!
Wahoo!!

First time in two months I have been out.
They sanitized a cart for me.
They showed me where the entrance hand sanitizer was.
They sold me two (the limit) lovely smelling sanitizers for my car.
There were tons of workers in masks at every corner. being sure we all
followed the arrows...Most of the customers had on masks, including ME!

I felt so free...so free...
Thank you Donna for suggesting 6:30...dinner time..
My doctor said I could go at 8 am, senior time...but that seemed to be full of
old people in line...ha ha...
This was perfect...not that I am going to make a habit of it.
But, for tonight It was absolutely divine!!

Making the Best of Crazy

Wash clothes for new little baby girl coming this summer...all done!!
The micro fleece on the back is like Minky...It sewed well once I realized,
 I needed a stretch needle in my machine!!

Snow in Charlotte!!
 First we had a thick layer of yellow dust for weeks from
the tall pine trees in our yard...
Now, "snow" is from our two big Carolina Cottonwood trees...
Spring in the Carolinas!!

Stitch doesn't mind...as long as he can be the center of attention!!

Above, "snow" in the tomato garden.

Dylan and Grandma went to a small private neighborhood park
He started reading his book assignment.  We had thought we were alone.
Quickly we were distracted by fighting Canadian Geese.
 Really?  Dylan thought they were adorable until
they started to come toward us with their attitude.. (thx Lisa)

Last night the grands and I played canasta.
They are still learning....so much fun.
Memories here of playing with my own grandmother at that age.
And card memories too.
These cards with "grandma" printed on them, I sent to my own
grandmother when I lived in New York City.
Hmmmm  That was 50 years ago...
And the Interlochen playing cards are from when my daughter graduated high school
from Interlochen Art Academy in Michigan...
That was 15 years ago...
Yes...It is true...I  keep everything....but how nice the memories.


And wonder of all wonders...how the children chose a matching snack for
our card playing . Not only red, but a healthy one at that!!

To: Lynsey and Dylan....Do you know why I would receive notes from both your teachers
that school work had not been done last week????
And you had told me that, yes...it was done??
What are you two doing/??  It is 10 pm.

I see....you have been busy, indeed!!!

Lynsey does not want the new baby girl coming...in Portland...
to be the only one with new soft washcloths.!!
Here are the two purple ones that Lynsey picked out for herself.
The above fabric is one of the ones that Emily brought back from her honeymoon in Thailand.
The below fabric is an African print that I bought on sale online.

Now...thanks to Chuck...we have the wisdom below:

It is soon one in the morning...Out of control children are now learning how to
install a new dishwasher.  No bed for them!!!

I have very strange children..
My son LOVES to install new dishwashers!!!
And, my daughter LOVES to do taxes.
All I can say is that I am one lucky grandma!!!!

Grandma in Training to be a Navy Seal

My girl is having her first baby...I am so excited.

She told me the kind of toddler bed quilt she wants...

Now I can plan and leisurely sew.

Sheep...The Irish way!!!

These are some of the wash cloths I am making for her baby.

I looked online for soft baby washcloths...They sent me microfiber...so soft.

On one side, I am covering them with adorable baby cotton quilting fabric...

Then I am quilting them to hold them in place.

  

Right away, my son and my granddaughter were jealous...
OMG, they wanted me to make them some...Talk about being a baby!!!!
And, the child is not even here yet....She is due in July..

Something is wrong with me.
Again!!
I am not reading as many books.
I am not reading my friends' blogs.
My go go go, has gone gone gone.

Bingo, I read an article Tina found on the web:
Handle Stress the Navy Seal Way.
Late in my life...I have become.a Navy Seal wannabee...

Here are the tasks I have accomplished ....10 masks for children.
See, I have had this problem of the children misplacing their masks and coming in my
sewing room just helping themselves to new ones....

Or, my OCD son,
washing them all the time so when the children want them, they are wet!!!!
We are mask believers...to help keep others safe.

I took 6 baby hangers from Lynsey's room to send to Emily...
I took 6....Lynsey has 20.
Mind you she is 11 and has not put her clothes on baby hangers since she was 4.  OMG....
She said, I do not want the new baby to have those...
They are mine and I love them????????
She told her father that I stole them and vandalized her closet/????????
 God, please help me.
I had to give them back and apologize...

I got a grip, bit the bullet...and on my credit card ordered a new dishwasher.
One would think that the store would be thrilled to make sale.
Maybe they were...
However....due to the "Covid 19 situation", they will notify us when it is available.
It is OK...
Good practice for the children to wash and dry dishes the "old fashioned way"!!
It is my son and I who are sick of it..!!!!

Save Your Soul With Your Passion..

Turning fear into faith...by carrying on.
Practicing your passions while making others happy.
Mother????  Is that your voice I hear???

Making rope bowls is so relaxing...This one was done in 30 minutes...
Thirty minutes of bliss...Swedish colors....Be proud of me Grandma.
I love the colors here, but pre-colored rope is a bit thin and wobbly.
I cannot wait until my order of 100% cotton, natural colored rope, comes..
Springtime..in seclusion..dying rope....sigh....So exciting.

Now that these two bowls are done, I find that I still cannot get into anything that requires much thinking...so easy and relaxing continues to be the goal.
Next up is a jelly roll quilt...
from Missouri Star Jelly Roll 2 Tutorial

I found this glitter jelly roll at Tuesday Morning before things closed up.
Since I have time now, I am making a few quilts to put aside for folks who may get sick.
Knock on Wood...

This is a jelly roll quilt...You can check the easy tutorial above from Missouri Star..
Unfortunately, I do not like it....that started when I made a mistake.
Here, somehow, I sewed it into a tube by not paying attention..grrr
I have cut it back open

This jelly roll only had 20 strips.  I have to add more fabric for a pleasant design.

Once the quilt is at a stage that is unattractive, the challenge is to make it artful.
That takes away relaxation...and until the light bulb comes on..it becomes work.

I need to be calm.
Going to put a chicken in the pot, Susan Branch's way.

As far as hair...ha ha hair??
I am identifying strongly with the grandmother look.
The babushka...look...
Just wrap it all in a scarf...I am not going anywhere anyway
And, my movie star days are over...

Rekindling the Flame

Tonight I just could not get focused... I made fudge..
Jeeze!!
After all my finishes, I did not know where to start again.

 I made a rope bowl...not one of my finest...
However, it did the trick.
I am more relaxed and more focused...(midnight thirty...but still)
.Just love these rope bowls.

Thank you Chuck and of course, Albert for the following:
It is perfect!!!

Block of the Month...Cats!!

Check out this link to a cat BOM...The first one is free, the next ones have a small charge.
Good job Helene!!

You'll Never Walk Alone

Thank you Paula...for sharing this..

The Seat of the Art: Granddaddy's Chair

This is a post about a finish...WOW..another finish
Good Grandma O'Quilts!!!

$15 plus $5 shipping from Waverly online...last year.
That chair pad was a perfect foundation to make a patchwork for my Mr. O'Quilt's recliner.
It was his favorite chair...
It evidently had a thin kind of leather cover which pealed off, leaving ugly.
After he died, I wanted to trash the chair.
OOOOOOO   NO.Everyone wanted to keep Granddaddy's chair.

What to do??
Cover it with remnants of clothes from my travels...
Guatemala, Israel, Istanbul, India and more..A little here and a little there.
Below is one pocket.

This pocket on the other side of the chair cover is a Janko pocket from Tuffy jeans.
They were so cool when my son was in middle school.. I save everything!!
That would have been 21 years ago.

Since this is a wild and crazy piece of memory, I have finished it with a large zigzag stitch.
Some places were difficult even with a walking foot and a jeans needle.
Oh, my ,...I am wondering if I need an industrial machine now...if I am going to create like this.

I love looking at the fabric...the memories of "hippy" clothes
that I bought during those travels in my youth.

This is all finished but the elastic that will keep it positioned on the chair.

Granddaddy....Do you like it??
xo

Keeping Artistic

Handmade key fob
Jerry, the fisherman lives by the sea....
Here is his key fob, made by me....
Jerry is 80, looks 60, you see..
Jerry is as kind as anyone could be...
He lets his wife, Muggs...get away, scott free!!!

Out my sewing room window, I see that I am not alone.
The common area by a lake, by the creek, hold families of deer.

I have been in a Naranon group for 20 years...This time we had our
Saturday night meeting via Zoom....So wonderful!!

My girl is in her third trimester of pregnancy...Little baby girl coming on
July 23...so exciting.  It is hard to be so far away in this locked down world.
But, my girl shares with her mother.  It keeps me sane.
She is ordering online...looks like no baby shower...oh, well
Grateful her husband is a good one..whew..

She ordered this hat on Etsy....She loves the muted dusty,
the earth tones and ivory...etc...musty greens, sage
She is so different from her mommy
Her mommy loves the wild and colorful look.
I want to make her bright pink with tassels!!
Too bad she cannot crochet herself.
She can sew, however.  This the first crib sheet she has made.
Crib sheets are expensive.  They take two yards of fabric.
I am so proud of my sewing girl.

The baby's room in progress...They live in an old Portland house built in 1907.
Oregon is my kind of place.
I love it so....I wanna be a young grandmother.to travel and help..
But, like my man said.."That is over.".!!.or my mother..."We had our day.".

Little baby is one half Irish and one fourth Italian...so glad we checked out Ancestry.

It is not that I asked for another grandchild, but my daughter's first baby...Awwww.

I told her I would make the changing mats...
She ordered the laminate 6 weeks ago...OMG
They say it was shipped yesterday...good thing it is only a 30 minute sew.

A few glasses of red wine, and I feel so relaxed.  My husband used to say....wait a few minutes
and that feeling will go away...
Sad but true.

PS, Eunice....If you are reading this...Emily has that adorable hand made sweater that  you made for Evan.....Her new little angel will so enjoy that.

What I have learned from a wise man.
Everyone in life has ups and downs....like arms flapping trying to get that bird off the ground.
Sometimes you make it, sometimes you do not.
What I learned from a 12 step program...
Accept life on life's terms...
What I learned with great difficulty.
We are all human and we do the best we can!!

My son did the snipping on my quilts.
Now that all my flimsy/quilt tops are quilted...
I get to get into my WIPs...so excited to continue work on these:
From the IQ rail fence purple challenge I have started these two quilts.
This one may be a lap quilt...

This one may be a wall hanging....
Hope, once again....I can put the pedal to the metal!!!
The rail fence blocks below have been cut into Hourglass blocks.

I have been on a roll...gotta make a list for tomorrow.
To keep on keeping on.
Tonight was the night that our Orkin guy came....He did not come in...sigh..
It is a new safe life.

Tonight Eamon made dinner with his children.
Eamon made the porkchops,
Dylan made the yellow squash
  Lynsey roasted the small multicolored potatoes....Yummy
Grandma sewed and watched the news.
Grandma has the good life!!!!

Odds and Ends, Mostly Odd

Hoping that some day, my girl would have a girl of her own, I made this dolly quilt..

Lynsey said she has had it for her own dolls for at least 6 years.

Possession being 9/10 of ownership, Lynsey will not give it back to Emily.

OK  OK...no fighting now, I will make Emily's baby another one.

My son brought me a Foxglove for the second year in a row.
Beautiful!!!

Lovely art inside the flower.

Creative minds on a Sunday afternoon.
Lynsey colored with sharpies the staples.
When the stapler is used, the staples come out in different colors...both sides.

A bit of money from the credit union.
Sprayed with disinfectant , now sitting in the sun.

A dear and gracious friend brought a yummy cake today.
We loved it!!!!
My girl finished making her first baby bonnet for her upcoming baby.
Sooo adorable!! It has a little brim...awwww.

Looking through my things with a fine eye...I found a vintage tablecloth dotted with holes.
Since we no longer have a dishwasher, we are always out of dish towels.
This table cloth has now been cut into 8 soft nice dish towels.

Today is Mother's Day.  I  felt loved.
My DIL sent me a very touching card.
My girl (in Portland) called in Chinese food for us...my son picked it up.
Quite a surprise.
Tomorrow school starts again...more Zooms...more chastisement for Dylan..not doing his work.
AD/HD kids hate to do school work...I am beyond myself.

We not only do not have a dishwasher working, nor a working garage door...
 but now we have no hot water. either.
On top of it all...my guess is...tomorrow we will still have...
the Covid-19....
Maybe my hairdresser will cut my hair in her back yard????
Does not matter at all...Today was a lovely day.
Do I dare let the exterminator inside the house..or should he just do outside?
I will sleep on it.