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.

The Midnight Hour

My scrap Heart quilt is hanging in the art room here.

It is very nice to see it appreciated once again.

Pix is awful, but...quilt is nice

Todays project making:  scrap hearts on my Accucutter.  The scraps were ironed onto fusible fleece.then quilted..more to be revealed

The calming influence of potholders...I only had one left for giving and loving

Japanes Boro box...a delightful gift from a friend...lucky me.

The midnight hour, full of Tylenol pm, I finished the binding for Evan's quilt...He is my dear eldest grandson.

Even though the late night rush delivered the most awful binding of 60 years of quilting...I am putting it in the quilt show anyway.

Very exciting news is that my apartment complex is providing a bus to the quilt show March 7, Friday.

Mostly good things to report tonight..

xo

Small Things with Great Love

My neighbor has a birthday  tomorrow.  Found this fabric piece that looks just like her dog.  With gold sparkly vinyl (from Cousin Ann in London)  I made her a small bag which I have filled with doggie treats...So much fun to make.

More key fobs.  This time I used my Kaffe scraps.

There is nothing like creating to calm the soul.

With my painful arthritis, I struggle to make larger projects.

There are lots of kind folks around here to give things to. I am amazed at how folks who do not sew admire homemade items.

People are actually asking me where I bought these key fobs....because they want one too.

Today my apartment complex drove me and my EOV to the doctor's office for a second opinion on my need for a hip replacement.

This doctor echoed the last doctor....More weight to lose for me..Jeeze Louize.

So, I have decided to keep giving myself weight loss shots and  use my EOV to drive around here and bloom where I am planted.

So missing my youth!!

So glad to be alive!

Look for the Light

 Look for the Light

Figured that this song was for me...maybe for you too...Life is hard sometimes!!

Below is stunning bag Sandee made...just lovely

Here we are on the visit...One Sandee and two Dianes..  I can see that my movie star days are over...OMG

Sent some Valentine sewing cards to my Aoife the other day...Such fun.

Lucy showed me a picture of her great-grandma's quilt...

Below, some seat cushion protectors I made from African fabric. They are water resistant and happy to look at

My neighbor, EJ showing off her stunning button necklace...I want one too...

And, my new potholder quirk:  Adding a piece of selvedge to add spice to the piece

And so it goes at the O'Quilts household which now, of course, only consists of me!!!

Trying not to be swept away by the crazy in my life and in our world.

"Just go sew" as my Dear man used to say.

`This Life of Mine

Thiought I would post to cheer the day.

Below Aoife and her cousin in Ireland at Christmas.

They are learning to get along.

Dublin airport at New Years...Aoife hugging Santa!!

Christine showing us her latest quilt.

I had such a lovely dinner last night with friends, that I was  motivated to finish a few of my things just sitting around.

I think the "love" applique is a good touch.  I found more online at Walmart.

Below, a potholder gift for a friend:

My sister is destashing....she is preparing her home for a hospital bed for her daughter

Hospice is involved.  We are all so sad.

I asked her for one cup of her Christmas china before she sells it..

Lovely  memories.

Sometimes a quilter just has to make a potholder...not done, but therapeutic

So here it is...my latest.:...My awful hip pain keeps me from going to dinner, to the art studio, from leaving the apartment.

No pain medication helps at all...And so a friend loaned me this...OMG

My poor ego.....I have to talk myself into being grateful it is available to me at no cost.  As I practice on it so I will not kill someone else, I should be able to be less confined and thus less depressed.

I think I will adjust to this better if it is bespeckled with quilting items!!!

Surgeon and doctor will not replace my hip if I do not lose 50 pounds, but I cannot walk..

Jeeze...I offered to sign a waiver, but no dice.  Me thinks the insurance companies now own the hospitals.

Instead I have to take these shots to help me lose weight.  I do not want to but the pain says , "just do it"

Now they are making me give myself the shots....OMG  OMG

Good things today include a visit from my friend Michael...Thank you Michael.for the friendship, the lunch and the visit..xoxo

Visitors came from my bldg....

And all was well until I tried to walk again after my nap and ended up in tears.

Guess what?????  Dinner fixed that....crazy me..

Now, as my dear man said....I will just go sew. xoxo