Lots of Joy and More

 My angel grand-girl visited me today and was my shining star.

She helped me pick a border for this flimsy

She cooked dinner for Grandma...sauteing peppers from my fridge with garlic and onion

 She organized my mess and disheveled sewing table

She did the dishes and we played Canasta in the card room...Lots of fun and laughs.

We visited Betty and her stain glass studio

So  nice to be a grandma instead of a mother!!!!

Above:  I painted with green sharpie the boring strap on my band.

                                                       

I finished off jar openers for  presents.  I like to clip a treat on friends' doors when birthdays or a "thank you" needs to  happen.

Last but not least, my friends here; OMG, They think they are  Easter Bunnies...OMG

As a special treat my son called tonight...twice.  Each time Lynsey jumped up and down to talk to him...More joy spread through the phone. Both of them so delighted...

Happy people make a happy grandma!!

Today....a Good Day

Focusing on the good;

Lunch with old friends

Cards with  new friends

Chat with my son

Chat with my Lynsey

Chat with my girl in Portland

Visit with the Wellness center re: hip replacement post surgery care.

Sewing

Here is my accomplishment of the evening...It is thanks to the great organizational skills of Linda

and of course, her kind heart...Without Linda and Sherry and my group, I would be lost.

Lynsey is coming tomorrow.  Hopefully she witll  help me with my mess and help me cut the border fabric..

All this made with lost blocks from forever ago.

My DIL and SIL bought a new house....He said no cats in the house......

But, our beloved Stitch lives with them....my sewing machine cat; the childrens' favorite.

Lynsey demanded that Stitch come with them when I moved...

Here is my SIL with his changed  heart   TBTG  I am so grateful.

My truths have been revealed.  Everyone knew I was  neurotic and loved me anyway.

I had thought it a secret!!

I identify as thin....Oh, no...clearly I am fat....Dear me, the truth is elusive at times.

The best news of all is my visit yesterday to my orthopedic surgeon....I have lost 32 pounds and he was delighted.  Evidently I have four more pounds to go.  I must have a BMI of 40 and mine is 41.

The doc was so delighted that he scheduled my surgery noting that it should be no problem for me to lose those extra 4 pounds since I am taking the weight loss shots...So thrilled.  Surgery is supposed to be in 3 weeks, my mother's birthday for good luck.  May 5th ....Oh, my.

Also very grateful that I have had minimal side effects from these shots.

And so it goes, a good post on a rainy cold April day.

Once again, Looking for the Light

 

Voila...here is is...by the sewing machine!!  It is always at the sewing machine.

The light and the Joy!!

Keeping myself busy by making things for others...I gave away two potholders this week;  one to my will attorney and one to the 

therapist  who came up to rescue my wheelchair from my rug...Jeeze..

Here I add a new potholder to the basket by my door.

Today, after my OT and my attorney visit, I finished off the  Easter bunnies and flowers for my door.

I started cutting bowl cozies...I figure if I have them all cut, then they will all be ready for the next step without boredom..

Dinner and conversation with friends...ended the day.

Our lovely spring days have now turned to cold.  I think I willljust  lock Pearl outside and go to bed myself.

Bunnies and Buttons and Bakelite

Such a great day today.  After lunch with a friend, the button jars from the art room provided amazing joy.

Lucky me found Bakelite buttons amongst other vintage ones....I then finished my Easter scrap decor, adding the adorable buttons.

Bakelite was pattened in 1909..  

In Portland the sunny day brought out the fast growing darling chickens to play with Aoife.

Sunshine is her favorite as it is the most cuddly.

These chickens are growing fast.  by two months they will be checked for their gender.

It will be a sad day if any of them are roosters.  Roosters are not allowed in their city neighborhood.

My girl has now made her first chicken diaper.  She gave it to Aoife's pre-school teacher whose chickens are grown.

Aoife plans a sleep over with Sunshine when it is older....

My, what would my grandmother say.??

What would my dear man say??

Thus a cheery inside , rainy outside day in Charlotte.

Still Alive and Hanging in

My Portland family continues with its love for the new chix. 

Aoife with Sunbeam...

Lynsey spent the night last night.  She talked and shared and helped old grandma...Grateful me!! She slept in my new  hospital bed.  I cannot get into that either with my painful hip.

I have lost 32 pounds, but need more to go in order to qualify for the much needed hip replacement.  My OT thought the hospital bed would help me as it lowers and rises, but I can not lift the affected leg, thus must continue to sleep in my reclinder.

My buddy Steve is in the hospital.  His cats are being watched by his neighbors on his apt floor.

Cheered him with a potholder!! Of course...Doesn't a potholder cheer everyone??.

EJ planted a new clematis in my garden.  Spring has come to Charlotte, thus a bloom already!

Finally I have labeled Evan;s  quilt .  I still have it as they are moving to a new house.

Here, my North Carolina family shows their new home:

I am so proud and happy for my DIL

My latest adventure in sewing:  spring fabric scraps ironed on fusible fleece, quilted and ready to cut out bunnies on my Accuquilt cutter.

 Here are my darlings....Dylan 15, and Lynsey 16.

So that is it for today...My awful hip pain opens the door to Pearl as she is always lurking.

Grateful for friends  to lift me up.

Chicken Love

 Grateful to have a friend like Ellen!!! Missing all our past get-togethers!!! Look at the lovely St Paddy's Day treat she sent me to add to my collection...Big thank you Ellen (sent you a text)

St Paddy's Day embellishment for this old lady...wahoo!!!!  A tattoo!!

My dear girl in Portland today bought 5 new chickens...They are 2 days old!!!!  OMG

She has wanted them forever and ever!!  They are getting hard to find now because of the egg crisis.

Of course what does she ask her mother for????

A tutorial for chicken diapers so they can come in the house.  Aoife is so excited!!!

They all now have chicken love!!

How to make chicken diapers

Missing my youth here....!!!  Feeling quite old..

Rainbows are for Everyone

 +

Thank you Sherry for the embroidery! 

Happy St. Paddy's Day to all!!

A whimsical political statement!

My sister found the rainbow fabric at Michaels for $2 a fat quarter

There was no green in these rainbows.  However, a bit of green permanent marker added some.

I have hung this flimsy on my apartment door

The border green fabric has Celtic Knots on it.

Grandma O'Quilts misses her dear Irish man

xo

Sewing Calms the Storm....Again!

Saturdays memorial service for our dear 38 year old Alexis, was wonderful...so much love.

Aoife in Portland getting ready for St. Paddy's day

Grandma O'Quilts preparing for the holiday .  All my Irish pieces are in the art room, so I am making a new one for my door.

The borders will be rainbows...as in the gold at the end..

Below my items in the art room 

Motivated to start another scrap quilt...I found these hour glass blocks in a bag...

My daughter ordered a renewal of my passport online a few weeks back.  I had the secretary here take a picture with my phone.

It arrived today...Wow, fast and easy online.

Below, more "found" beginnings:  I am starting a 16 patch for another comfort quilt.

A bunny surprise tucked in my mailbox????

More scrap fun, made by Linda.

Here we are:  

Grief all around

The world gone mad.

Finding little pleasures in family and friends

Memories of my Dear Man saying:

"Just go Sew"!!

Sewing for Peace...My Own!

Anxiety is upon me...physical pain, family anxiety, country anxiety and world anxiety.

In the words of my late Dear Man....."Just Go Sew"....I am calming my soul.

Above is a batik lap quilt basted forever, finished this week.

Below, in our art studio, hangs my African fabric quilt to honoring Black history month

Last show here, I was delighted when it won a ribbon for creativity.

In preparation for our St Paddys party here, I have ordered favors...slap bracelets!!!

From scraps, I have made placemats.  Tomorrow I will give them to two people here who feel sad and blue.

I am blooming where I am planted!!

In one of my many scrap baskets, I found the collar of a shirt I wore 40 years ago.

I must haven admired the machine embroidery. Since I struggle getting rid of anything, I decided, once again, on a potholder.

My potholders sit in a basket by my door....I give them to kind people who work or live here..

Now, to my gratitude list on my phone, and to bed.

I have more peace now thanks to creating

 

The Other Side of the Coin

My quilted scrap pieces are finished into Shamrock hangings...I love how they turned out.

An online order...Irish buttons, arrived today...gleefully..

My girl Is here from Portland....The comfort of family.

She is doing my taxes and I am fiddling with sewing up odds and ends.

She is such a wonderful daughter...

She tried to get dinner, but the battery was dead in my car...
Bad timing as she just arrived yesterday...

.Security here jumped it and then Michael put in a new battery

Grateful me.

A plain ol' bag came free with another bag.  Boring, but iron on patches from 

Missouri Star Quilt Company  made the difference.

This pix is an example from their sale page today.

My sister is coming to visit tomorrow...so bitter sweet since Alexis died Saturday.

I have not seen my sister in months because she was caring for her daughter.

In spite of our sorrow and my awful hip pain...

I feel uplifted. 

That deserved a post tonight!!

Amazing Grace

 My lovely niece, Alexis, age 38, died Saturday just past midnight of an agressive ovarian cancer., a mere 15 months past diagnosis.

We miss her so.  Thank you Hospice.  Alexis was the face of great bravery, as is her mother. xoxoxoxo

The God thing was sent via my sister who never asks for help.  She asked our Stasi to order her a sandwich from Door Dash

The delivery man was 30 min late.  He apologized for the cold sandwich, saying his father was new to this and became lost.

My sister said that that was nothing as her daughter was dying in the next room.

Thirty minutes later the man came back with his teenage son.  They brought flowers and a gift card.

A complete stranger showing us all that there is kindness in the world after all.

Above are my hearts made of scraps.  I ironed them onto fusible fleece.  I quilted them and cut the hearts with my electric Accucutter (one of the nicest treats I have ever recieved from myself)!!

In my grief for Alexis, I am keeping busy by doing the same thing with some green scraps..  I have a Shamrock die as well.

Nothing like creating to soothe the soul.    `

Meantime, in Portland, Oregon, our Aoife makes a snow angel and enjoys winter.

A lovely

 homemade card from Linda Swanekamp...Joy!!!!

AND, today....Happy 16th birthday to our wild and wonderful Lynsey  xoxoxoox

With all life's sorrows, there is still much to be grateful for.

Love abounds.