Good Stuff/ Sad Stuff

 Yesterday my quilt was hung in our art room..Purple Mountain Majesty..I made it a number of years ago...just was lucky to show it off now.

A few leaves from last year...soon to meet this year's leaves.

And, below, the sunflower card I recieved today from my granddaughter, Aoife...my kindergarten girl.

Thank you mucho, Aoife!!  Grandma loves you.

Tonight I finished my goal of the past two days:  I made 10 potholder tops...A greatly enjoyable time.

Tomorrow, I will pick the backings...another fun project!!!

As I was perusing fabric scraps for the potholders, I came about this scrap from the first day of kindergarten shirt I made for my son 35 years ago.  He looked so adorable going off to school.  When he came home, his shirt was so dirty that I could barely make out the dinosaurs....He thus continued all his life...enjoying muddy things...My wonderful son is still really struggling...This piece of memory sent a few tears rolling tonight.

It is always late at night when sad things hit me.

This morning I went to the pool.  I always feel so much better after that exercise...Why do I not do it every day??  Guess that weakness called laziness hits me. My apartment complex group plays Hand and Foot card game several times a week.  I have met many nice folks..and watched sadly as those start to lose their focus and can no longer play.  Today that happened...A friend in her 90's got so confused that she was taken back to her apartment by her caregiver ......

Nothing like fabric to cheer a day.  No one who is not a sewist can imagine how delightful it is to sort 

through scraps for the perfect fit, color, design and memories..

Fabric and Chickens...again...

Well now, quilting  yesterday with Charmaine and Linda brought fun, support and the gift of their organizational skills...  Things finished: 

Janet's 6x9" potholders to fit right into her drawer,

From Portland comes a picture of hens sneaking up to Aoife's bedroom onto clean holiday sheets!

The last of the prepared children's washcloths...Thank you , Linda!

Voila   The first  egg...five months later, from Clover...in Portland....My first grand-egg!!

Good job Clover...you are so grown up now!!

A tiring good day today....pool exercise in the morning and PT in the afternoon....Dear me...PT as we know, stands for  physical terrorist.  I am exhausted.  It is cooling down in Charlotte as the year whips by.

Aoife, above did not want to go to Kindergarten two days in a row...All made better by the school librarian who raises chickens...TBTG  For that librarian, Aoife wore her 

chicken T-shirt.

My Oregon relatives are chicken crazy.

Here in the family room we find three chickens resting on my antique quilt from c.1910!!!

Who raised that girl of mine??

I have lost almost all of my favorite bloggers...When bloglovin went wrong...even now I cannot find them...sad, but true..

Artsy Craftsy Show

 

First up...darling 5  year old Aoife...home sick for the first two days of kindergarten...So sad that she had to have two of her pet chickens cuddle with her on the sofa.....

When my friend Margaret had identical twin granddaughters, I had  to make quilts...The twins were at risk and it all turned out great!! They are now 3 months old, same age as my girl when we adopted her...

These quilts are for the stroller and/or car seat...as the children age, these can be used for doll quilts.  Sherry  kindly embroidered each girl's name on the quilts...Eloise and Adelaide!!!

My friend here at the complex picked out some fabric for patching the hole in her pants...Voila my patch for her...Another friend is using the second patch that matches for a pocket patch on the back of the black pants...

I whipped out these two rope bowls last night to put in the Art room open house this afternoon...So thrilled I found colored rope online....Orange for the fall.

Baby face cloths covered with children's fabric.  My occupational therapist just had a baby girl.  She also has a two year old son...I made two for the new daughter's bathtime and two for her son...

There was such a lovely craft/art/hobby show in our theater area a few days back.. I showed my wares and appreciated those of others...Here is a buddy who does wood carving...I just loved his wooden bowtie!!  My attendees loved first my African fabric; second the rope bowls.  I was  grateful that it was just a show and not a sale...so relaxing and fun.

Today was a lovely day. I am expecting tomorrow to be the same...Nice to be a retired old lady with an apartment full of stunning fabric...Sigh....xoxo

Quilting at my place today brought Linda and Sherry and my sister...So much laughter and of course they helped me do things around that I am afraid to do without falling....I am so very grateful 

Are You Tired of Chickens Yet???

 Goodness...Tonight my SIL and Aoife returned home safely from Ireland...Whew

My daughter had a lovely restful time with her chickens and her sewing machine and her music...peace and quiet...now happy her family is home.

My girl has already started with her Halloween decorations!!!!!  Wonder what her live chickens think?

 

Guess the live chickens prefer the safety of inside on the carpet in the family room!! 

First chicken diaper made!!!  SOS  Emily called to say that the chickens do NOT like the diapers and refuse to wear them...hmmm   Now on to the U-tube special on how to put a chicken diaper on a chicken the happy and easy way.. hmmm

The quilts I made for Margaret's  twin granddaughters... Evidently Josie likes one of them better than her own bed..

Card pouch finished for Jackie...Hand and Foot card game, this laminate  pouch holds all four decks.

Secured with Velcro..

Lucky me went to my first Sit and Sew at the local library.  (first in 9 months) I added hardware to 40 key fobs.

I love the Charlotte Modern  Quilt Guild..Was so thrilled to see my friends and be out and about....I am quite wobbly and weak still....but zero hip pain.

Below, in a basket made by my daughter...sit the fobs that are ready for gifting:

Today was full.  Friends invited me to brunch here in one of our 5 restaurants; I read outside on my patio, another friend came by for several hours to discuss books,  philosophy and poetry.

Then off to play cards and to dinner made in another friends apartment...My goodness, Pearl was nowhere to be found..just a lovely day.

Back home tonight, a silly movie and my sewing machine.  I had a tiny bit of clothesline rope left...It was fun to fiddle with scraps making it up into a small rope bowl.  Not perfection, but it will still go into my box of gifts.

Thinking that since September is soon, I would start making some fall items.  I have things that need to be done, but improv is much more relaxing.  So preferring Want over Need.

Every day I am a tiny bit better.  Two physical therapists told me that a posterior hip replacement surgery could take up to one year, not 3 months.  Meantime the shots I had to take to lose the weight for the surgery have stopped.  This has left me with a huge destructive craving for sugar...Sigh...And so life goes on....Many  things to be thankful for, including the energy to write a blogpost.

An Update

Well, evidently I have been neglecting my blog!  The surgery slowed me down, despite the no pain thing.  My hip joint was so damaged, that the operation was the old fashioned way...thru the back muscle with 50 staples...taking much longer to heal.

Here  is one of Margaret's new twin granddaughters....on the small doll's quilt I made each of them...The twins are 2.5 months old.

Forever chicken pictures out of Portland:  Aoife felt her mother needed a chicken cuddle, so she ran around the  yard catching two chickens for her mother to hold......in the family room!!

 

A treat I bought myself at Trader Joe's....Stock..lovely smell...this plant grew in Phoenix when I was growing up.  Below, also the lavendar my girl sent me from  her yard in Oregon.    

Someone here asked me how I was....zero hip pain....but now I have to have a tooth pulled from grinding during stress...Jeeze Louize!!  My feet hurt, etc....but a friend told me that that was the OA virus...The old age virus..something always hurts.

Just when I was about to work on my key fobs and washcloths...the electricity went out...It locked my sewing machine into the updown stitch...OMG  I do not want to go thru all the effort of taking it in..to the shop for one stuck button...The electricity going out did it.  A  big tree had crashed the wires in our neighborhood.  I have to sew!!!!  The lady across the way from me...put my red Janome travel machine on a table for me...Whew...!!

I have lots of recovering to do after this operation...I hate slow, but I love pain-free!!

Goals for self:

bind scrap quilt

finish key fobs

finish wash cloths

make a child's quilt for the guild

start tons of new projects as my mind keeps discovering possibilities!!

The quilting life keeps me going.

My joy is to make things to give away!!

PS:  I am losing it. It took me an hour to set up the little red...remember how to do this and that...OMG  In this pix  just one key fob is sewn.  I had planned to whip out 20 tonight...no power; messed up expensive machine by the power outage...re-learning machine number 2..  .Now I am irritated...gotta do a gratitude list...or maybe just go to bed.

This picture says it all...Maybe my mind is going??  Maybe I  tried to do too much...Maybe I should realize that it is almost  12:30 at night..

Just ugh!!!  (Thank you for listening)

Time is Flying...

Below are jar openers.  They are backed with rubber draw liners...Now is the time for relaxing sewing with no stress and no deadlines!!

Here: 13 bowl cozies for the holidays.  The bottom one is made from a shirt  I had  made for my son when he was five...He is now 40!!  Both my boy grands wore it too! 

Making more laminate  pouches closed with velcro.  They are perfect for holding cards, or snacks, or anything.  I have one for dog  treats and one for labels.  The old ladies here play "Hand and Foot ". a card game.  I made one of these for each table so the cards would not get lost.

Our darling Stitch is now 9.5 years old.  I still remember how Evan and I went to get him at  the shelter after Granddaddy died.  He is  the best cat ever...king everywhere he goes.  Now he lives in Union County with the grandchildren he loves.  Stitch no longer sleeps on my sewing table, but as you see, he is quite happy  xox Love you Stitch!!

A fun scrap potholder...

It has now been almost 3 months since my hip replacement surgery.  Still zero pain...so grateful...However, I am wobbly, on a walker and working on my patience..Life does seem to change.  Little by little I am able to do new things...Eg. I can now exercise in the pool for 30 min and ride the Nu-step for 11 minutes. Still only walking small distances.... I am carrying on.

I am making new friends.  A couple moved in last week where the husband has ALS.  I took them a potholder and told them I was available any time they cared for support.  No one should be alone with this disease!!  I can be a fellow traveler.( If they want)

Reading and  relaxing and getting better...Finally posting...Internet is back and I am still in the learning curve of my new PC mini...

I am preparing new small works for the  holidays..and preparing myself to get  better!!  xoxo

Hello my Friends

 Life is progressing with my hip repair.  I have been spending time on the exercise bike, in the swimming  pool and walking.  I am still quite fragile and wobbly, but pain free..TBTG!!! I guess that 7 months of pain and inactivity mean a long recovery...Grateful...no pain!!

Making small things to give away:  bowl cozies, pot holders, key fobs and small tissue holders.  Nothing to share but pix from my girl in Portland.

Last week the whole family, Rosie the dog, Aoife the 5 year old and Mommy and Daddy drove 6 hours to the mountains to hike and camp out...Llamas carried their gear...

They had a great time!!

Just found this in my email...maybe posted it, maybe not...I do love scraps.

I have not posted in so long...Aoife making cream...must have been at holidays.  Aoife turns 5 tomorrow and starts kindergarten in September!

Below, Carol invited me in to visit...Look what I found on her table...Her  husband's ties...A great job!!

Happy Birthday Aoife with your chicken balloons....

Both Aoife and her mother...kiss their chickens...Dear me!!!!

Lucky Mango!!

Happy Happy fifth birthday dear Aoife!! xxoo

Grandma O'Quilts practices patience with her long recovery!!!!  

Unrealistic expectations...No Diane....at 77 there will be no hopscotch, no jump rope, no running a marathon....sigh.....but pain free!!! Grateful.....

Sunflowers from Trader Joe's make my day so happy!!

Small Things with Great Love

Celebrating life by making for others.  The other night, watching news on Instagram, I  just knew I had to sew for joy....I made 35 key fobs to give to others...So much fun and so easy. Key fob tutorial  

There are many tutes for this.  I cut my fabric 3.5 x 10 inches and my fusible fleece, 2" by 10".  There are great selections for key fob hardware online. Here I have used 1 inch clasps, but just ordered 1.25 inch ones and I like them better..

Continuing on with the fun is Mrs. O'Quilt's nonstop potholder making...I am so out of them now...A few here to give to the rehab nurses who put up with this difficult patient in rehab!! and for the potholder basket I keep by my front door.

Kathy has cancer.  Kathy loves sunflowers....and so.....

Having left the 6 chickens with a sitter, my girl and her man and her 5 year old and the dog, all spent time climbing Oregon mountains with llamas to carry their burdens... So glad I traveled while I was young...OMG

Loving life today.  More good smart friends here, keeping great friends of yesteryear, fond memories of others...Still walking with a wobble...no pain..TBTG, taking walks, exercising in the pool...making small things with great love in order to survive this crazy world.

I have no earthly idea  how folks survive without sewing and having a good stash!! 

I am so grateful!!

Fusible fleece is my new friend.  Quilted holiday items on my door..sewn on Fusible fleece!  Now I find it comes in 3 different weights...

I found a charm pack by my door...from a non-quilter who had randomly found it at a store, thinking of me!! How very thoughtful.  Tonight I finished a potholder for her from that fabric.

Look at the adorable labels I ordered from Cozy Club Handmade  The best labels come from this site. It is out of Malta.

Every day is a slow day to recovery....still going in the right direction!!

I seem to be quickly gaining back some of those 40 pounds I had lost for my surgery.

Without the Semaglutide shots, I have an awful sugar craving...

Grateful to my friends and my sister for helping me out. 

I need some help soon with my  new computer.  I did not realize that I would have to put on all the shortcuts and passwords again.  Still life is good.  Making little gifts for workers here who are so helpful.