Don't Worry Be Happy

 I realize now, that is not just me...Everyone has the  jitters now- a- days. I am working on my COVID get it together deal....Don't Worry, Be Happy

Made myself some new Design boards...YUP ..getting stuff done in isolation. They are cut from ceiling tiles at the hardware store...found in my garage...wahoo...Cut to size by my son..about 13" by 16"

My old ones were stapled batting to the boards.

This time, I am doing it easier.  I cut the batting exactly the size of the cut board, I sprayed the board with 505 batting spray, just to hold it.  Then, I covered the edges with my awesome, buy myself a present for the holidays...Colored Duct Tape...so worth it!!

Fixing Fabric Bleeds by Suzy  This is a good one..

I had terrible Crabby Mc Nasties  this morning...terrible.

As I sat grumbling at my computer, a smiling Dylan arrived with a treat he had made me..

I am such a lucky grandmother!!!

Tomorrow we are due for rain and sleet....all day...

Another happy....:

Thanks to an idea from Patti...Musical Gund elephant arrived in Portland in one day.

If Ellie gets one, Aoife gets one too!!!

Too bad I do know how to transfer a video from Whats App,...because it is darling to watch her laugh.

I put my sewing room into disaster mode again looking for some applique that was about 3 or 4 years old. When finally I found it, part had fallen off...

Oh, Lord, Won't You Buy Me....

For Grandma's peace and quiet, they are playing Old Maid on the porch.

They are laughing, so my guess is that a rainy 39 degree day doesn't bother them much.

Here are my January finishes..

My son is working on the neighbor's car.

The children are outside running wild.

The dog is old, deaf and almost blind.

The cat is sneezing up a storm.

And, the frozen pizzas in the garage refrigerator are thawed and not frozen.

Want to eat them anyway, but I am nervous.  Hope that freezer is not broken.

My style is being real...Real is talking about life as it is., not hiding the hard stuff and only talking about the pleasant.  I am a happy person living with some tough stuff, that I like to share sometimes.

My son is now taking his darlings to get a burger and to help shop at Aldi.

I sent a list to both my son and my granddaughter's phones..

I ordered some black paper masks to double mask over the cloth ones I made.

I love my 37 year old PCP,  She has told me not to worry about Covid in Charlotte, just take precautions, because she is first on her practice list to be called into the hospital if they need doctors for Covid.  And she was still in the office....Oh..dear...yesterday, we tried for an appointment, and she is in the hospital for the month of January to help out.  Evidently the big hospital downtown has doubled its beds in rooms...so much need.

I am cozy inside.  There is a beautiful big fat Cardinal outside my sewing room window.

There is quiet in my house...

We keep on keeping on.

Fun Friday

My present to me!!  Although, I did make myself do my exercises before I opened the package.  

$3.99 a yard...Amazing deal

Just in case you did not know...I love fabric...and especially love a good deal. Never would I say that I have enough, even though I have more than enough...I love it so.  Quilting and fabric collecting are two different passions...sigh!!

Soo, today came my first order from:  African Fabric...

This all was $3.99 a yard..(almost free)..since full prices are around $11 a yard  .And, yes, I did leave some behind...although it was very difficult and the children did say that they have to eat and have shoes, etc.

I have tons of reasons why I did this, but no excuses...I cannot wait to get these washed in order to play with them.!!!  Life can be soooo much more wonderful with stunning art supplies.

My January finish:

This scrap quilt started with random 2.5 inch squares made into four patches.

Four patches matched with triangles. etc.

Imperfect is cuddly as well as perfect is cuddly. And, I am sneaking this in as a finish even though I have not snipped the threads...Eager to start something else!!!

Brilliant sunshine today but a freezing high of 45 degrees.

Gone are the days of my warm living in Phoenix and Miami.

All is well.  Life is good and the children are thrilled it is Friday.

Living Life Covid Style

Covid socializing 2020 and 2021.  In the garage, door wide open, masked, 10 feet apart, heater and quilts...OK...hats too...Show and Tell, the One Block a Day Challenge for 100 days.

I love my Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild  Last night we had this speaker from Washington State.  All by Zoom.  It was so wonderful.  We had 52 participants....One from Australia, others, not members.  I think I might join the Seattle and Portland Modern Quilt Guilds to visit their meetings and speakers..The new Covid style  meet ups. Our Guild is going to do again, placemats for Meals on Wheels.  Their group has changed with the pandemic.  I am going to have Lynsey and Dylan make some as well.

The Good Vibes National Quilters are having a UFO 12 month finish deal, to help us get going.

This blue and yellow pinwheel in on my list of 10 UFOs.  I could have put 100 on my list...but I so wanted to be modest.!!  Never the less, I refuse to be left behind.  There are only a few more days of January.  I quilted half of this tonight and plan to finish it in no time.  I am Covid driven!!!

Now we are being told by Science to wear two masks or doubly reinforced masks.  I love this style

After a few tries, it is easy as pie.  Plus she has a free video tutorial. Two layers with a filter or two in the middle, and ties that adjust themselves. 

New and improved Olson mask tutorial  from Sew She Can....my favorite mask tute...I ordered filters online...mailed from America!!

 Debra C...Thank you for your comment.  Would you give me your email address so I can chat more with you about the cutter xo Thx.

Pouring rain in Charlotte.  When I get stressed, I go onto my screened in porch and lift my weights.  I can do 25 bicep curls with the 6 pounds and 25 straight and side with the 3 pounds.  My PT told me that this would help with my balance.  I know I told this before, but for my own reminder, I must tell it again. Tomorrow the sun will shine..

PS  Tonight I played two hands of Canasta with Lynsey.  She went out on me BOTH times..leaving me holding the bag.  Then I played Old Maid with her...yup...She left me holding the Old Maid card too...Is it red wine or chocolate, to soothe my ego..????

Then and Now....

 My Accuquilt practice session...dies of 2.5 inches and 4.5 inches    The verdict so far...no corners to clip and perfect piecing...Seems slower than the old way, but I am just getting started..Can you believe I have had this machine 9 years and rarely used it.

Using the padding, for bowls that came today, to hold the cut pieces.

The wool pressing mat I have owned over a year and never used...Nice..

As long as I am doing the memory thing.  Here we have my dear man, Head of Children's programs  for Catholic Services, and his guest.  They are discussing programs for children with disabilities..

Must be around 1979 or 1981..... Bet you cannot guess which one is my husband!!!

Last night while I was sleeping, I heard Mr O'Quilts say, " Good Night Sweetheart."

I rolled over to give him a hug and awoke to an arm full of pillow.

Dreams are strange.  This upcoming Easter it will have been 6 years since he flew on...

I will never be the same.

Living in Miami for over 20 years....Some years, we have great memories of swimming all summer in the awesome Biltmore pool. It used to be a private estate, then an army hospital, then a wonderful hotel. It just happened to be a few blocks from our house..

Aoife being cute.

Two things to look forward to tomorrow:

A scrap sorting visitor and Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild meeting by Zoom

I just watched Mary Mashuta and Roberta Horton showing their studios on, "The Quilt Show".

They are indeed my favorite.  Those twin sisters are 80 now...unbelievable.

Cousin Ann bought for me,  a year subscription to the Quilt Show...

I love it already.  They have a number of videos and lessons on antique quilts.

Almost midnight again...xo

My Accuquilt Go Experience 2021

Midnight and everyone is in bed TBTG

My balance of free productive time is uneven.  Tonight I tried Accuquilt piecing for the first time.

I have had the machine and dies for at least 9 years..  I have used it for applique, not piecework.

This die has a 2.5 inch square, 2 triangles that make 2.5 when sewn and a 4.5 inch middle block

I wonder what other blocks I can make with this combination.

A few years back, I was gifted this blend of fabric.  Good thing to start on fabric not favorite...where waste will not cause heart disease...

These blocks are on my portable design wall.

I also need to know  how to store them...I have seen others with little boxes, etc.

I am hopeless at organization...so looking for help.

Since I decided on this midnight project, my sewing room is a total disaster.

I clean, I get distracted by lovely fabric and UFOs and new ideas...OMG.

Where is a personal assistant when I need one.

Everyone has their own passions. Now, Lynsey is busy on her new Christmas phone learning new Tik Tok dances and, by the way, sign language..Dylan is forever on computer games.

Tomorrow, I will check out ways to store these pieces

I will check out ways to use the pieces in different blocks.

Let me know which dies  you all use...if you do.

Maybe I will clean and maybe I will sew.

Maybe I will do my 25 bi-cep curls with my number 6,,,,such a brave lady.

Maybe I will read a book.....or maybe I will make dinner....again..

There are only four of us now in the house.  But, one would think there were 40 with all the eating and snacking and the food bill.

Midnight.  I can clearly hear that only my son is asleep.  There is furniture moving upstairs, There is probably a sleepover with sleeping bags...food hidden where it should not be.

Maybe after my second Covid shot, I can hire cleaning help....For some reason there are chocolate cake crumbs all over the floor.

No, guess no hired help yet.....with the new mutations.  We have to clean the house ourselves.  The dishwasher goes 3 times a day and so does the washing machine.

My son is a smoker and children all over are getting Covid more often.  

Time will tell.

Meantime, we have a nice house in the woods, we are warm and together and so far...mostly healthy.

Life is still good.

 

Family Memories

Going through things.  I found a picture of my grandmother in 1945 at my mother's first wedding.

I was born in 1947, so this must be 75  years ago.  My mother was 25 when she had me and my grandmother was 25 when she had my mother...I figure Grandma was 48 in this picture?  Wow!!  I am not the greatest at math...but wow.. She died at 99 from a last minute non- hodgkins lymphoma.

My mother had a double wedding with her best friend.  My grandpa walked them both down the aisle.  He was fourteen years older than my grandmother...Here he is....62. He died at 74 from a heart attack.

 My parents. A few months before my mother died, she told me that I reminded her so much of my father.  I had never heard that before...smart and witty...OK, I will take that..

My father died at 74 from complications of TB

My mother died at 93 after falling out of her wheelchair and breaking her neck.

She had Parkinson's.

With all Lynsey's preparations for the birthday festivities...looks like her daddy is too sick to participate.

That is  the life.  Oh, nope...he got up and we sang Happy Birthday...whew..

For fun....:It did not take folks long to get this together...!!!

Bernie's Mitten Tutorial

 

Happy Cold and Sunny Saturday

Sometimes it is just hard to navigate life..one day you have it all together, the next day disenchants.

Cousin Ann,  you are so the best.  My package came today bringing such great cheer.

As I grazed the site looking for bargains, I found things I loved at full price.

I am a great believer in the Marshalls logo:..(".Never, never, ever pay full price!")

But, this time, I just went for the joy!!

I have always wanted one of these bracelets...Lynsey said it was a bit funky. 

I said,  just like your grandma!!

A marvelous 10 inch square package of "Linen Texture" by

Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts

Blue and white  yardage.

More funky fabric....

An adorable necklace that is so me.....

The thing about buying the jewelry for myself is that it shows hope.

For so long, I have felt, like the rest of the world...down and out, hopeless, overwhelmed.

Now, the election is over, I had my first Covid shot, Evan is doing well with his mother, Lynsey has excellent grades and Dylan has an marvelous teacher. I see a glimmer...joy...

I might even start brushing my hair again...(JJ) as in just joking!!!!

Daddy's girl here made her daddy a birthday cake!

First she made peanut butter cookies, then took Christmas truffles and frosting...

That girl...I have not had to do a thing today....and it is not my birthday.

Happy 36th birthday Eamon!!!

   Lynsey made her daddy French toast for breakfast while I was sleeping. He has a terrible, terrible tooth ache, so he has to eat soft.  His dental appointment is not until February 9, because of Covid. He has this aversion to the dentist, so he let it go too far. It is hard to see someone you  love in so much pain.

Mostly Good Stuff

Checking out A Quilted Passion, I found fun links to persue...

Lori Holt's Criss Cross Star

Japanese Cross

I may...just may take out my Accuquilt machine and cut some blocks..

My son turns 36 tomorrow.  Happy Birthday Eamon!!

Here, his mother surprises him with presents from Amazon.

A thrifty and practical birthday is a good birthday.  He is OCD.  I love  it!!!

He likes to clean and organize...wahoo.

The kids were so excited when I told them the birthday presents had arrived.  They ripped open the boxes and looked at me in disgust.  I had a great laugh...well deserved!!!

Next up:

Aoife had her 6 month check up today.

Three shots..Ouch!!

 About 25 years ago, I bought holiday sheets for my children's beds.  Seeing my darlings sleeping under snowmen sheets was enamoring. 

No one around here is interested in that now...and I no longer have the energy.

I took a flat sheet, ripped it in half, and sewed the halves into bags for Christmas wreath storage.

I do not want to hear from my son next year that he cannot find the wreaths...!!!

Of course, since we like laughing  ..Hi Bernie!!

(this is a funny....not a political statement)

Fuzzy but wonderful...The first Bluebird I have seen this year.

Why??? Linda came over in her mask and cleaned out my man's Bluebird houses.
So grateful!!

I am cleaning my sewing room.  Again...and again..and again....

I hope this site is legit....I was sooooo tempted by the very low prices.  They say, if it is too good to be true...it isn't good.  But, I took a chance because I LOVE African fabrics.  Stay tuned.

https://fabricsonsale.com/?fbclid=IwAR24CzH5HNcnyuqRtk8p6CPXkQFuPFHTBuwaAaEWBn5p9OYDoe8G7y5li5U

Joy to the World.

Today, the sun shone down on me.  With a tip, I was able to receive my first Covid vaccine shot.

Evidently, near the end of the day, there are sometimes shots left.  Rather than throw them away, they are available to walk-ins.  A brave friend and I took the risk and won...Wahoo.

Beneath my room's rubble of fabric paradise , emerged this;  Funky Jelly Roll top.

Made from loose and sparkly fabric from..... heaven knows where.

Below, sewing lessons resume...six months, checking out the measuring tape.

COVID attacks Charlotte, North Carolina

We are told to stay  home.  The children still have remote learning.  The library has reduced its hours. The senior center is closed...again...

At certain times, I drive my books to the front of the library.  I call the library.  A masked lady comes out with a box. We exchange books.  We, old and tired folks, are told to reconsider the grocery store.

So!!  Amazon Prime delivery, here we come. This is Amazon fresh with rotisserie chicken, carrots, leeks, etc.  The children were so excited to look through the bags and put away the food.

Tonight we were able to have chili.

In her walker, Aoife smiles. Sometimes, Rosie the dog, brings her own toys to play along side of the baby.

My life now consists of an 11 year old girl insisting that my sewing room is hers and the family's  and so is my computer.  She said, I should not be selfish.

It consists of Tik Tok episodes...as in:

"How to Piss of Your Boss", and, "What Teenagers Know that Parents Do Not!"  (and for sure,  Grandmothers will certainly not know.)

                              I am busy being entertained with O'Quilt family preteens, dancing and lip syncing to to their own generational music.  And recording it....For awhile, I got away with the fact that Granddaddy loved classical music...They loved Granddaddy, but listening to his music did not last..

Add to all that is: sixth grade science and social studies. and, getting texts from Dylan's teacher that somehow, he missed his entire math class.  With one hand on the computer games and one on his school Chrome book, Dylan smiles the sweetest smile as he tells me that he does not know what she is talking about.

Yet, today, the magic happened.   I was able to get my first Covid vaccine shot.

I am oh, so grateful..xxoooxoo

Ups and Downs and all Arounds

Finally, a finish!!!  '

This finish is thanks to Good Vibe Sit and Sew and CQG Sit and Sew.

Zoom  Zoom Zoom

It was nice enough today to snip the threads outside.

This backing was bought at JoAnn's fabric, about 15 years ago. On the way to Pittsburgh to visit Emily at  Carnegie Mellon....DH always planned fabric stops, or antique stops along the way..

For me, it is like this fabric was waiting around to back this quilt.!!!

Here we go....evidently Portland is cold enough for a sort of "snow suit" without the snow.

(Grandma was wrong....again...This is not a snow suit. It is made with denim.)

And our girl no longer needs the car seat in order to take a ride in the carriage. 

As my Covid moods go up and down and crazy...

My son knows how to calm his mother....

"Max Daddy Hot Chocolate"....with chocolate chips...

I could not say "No"..

The very late December birthday present for my sister.

She works in a hospital on weekends so we do not see each other. (Covid)

She can see it here till I can drop it off at her  house.

Her favorite color...and it is two sided.

Sew She Can Is my very very favorite free tutorial site.

This is the  "10 inch fabric basket".

This is a three day weekend.  Kids staying up too late.

My son said...."I got this Mom"!!  Of course, that meant

kids cooking at midnight.

Dylan made brownies

Lynsey made crepes which turned out to be pancakes..

At one am....we went to bed.  Lynsey slept with me..I got slapped in the head a number of times as she sleeps like a wild animal.  Evidently Dylan does too...as my son reported being kicked around...

Kids are tough, but so worth it.

My son has now taken his children to a hill, to roll down and enjoy, just like he used to do as a kid.....

The very best saved for last:

Aoife and her daddy auditioning for the theater..

The Balancing Act.

Sooo adorable..