New Computer, Special Family, a Few Quilty Finishes

Happy July holidays:  Hanging in our art room, my flag piece and a hopeful pot holder:

Finish:  a laminate bag forever prepped...a year later, finished in 15 minutes!!

A homemade sponge from net bags that held oranges and pretty fabric:  finished 5  years ago...has been sitting around forever to be repaired....done and on my sink in 5 minutes...5 years?? 5 minutes??  What I do to myself!!

Family love..daddy's girl!!!

Chicken Mama!!

Chickens eating a homemade ice cake..

Happy Birthday my dear grandson, Evan.  Twenty years old...unbelievable that your parents had you when they were twenty!!!!

I have a new computer., a mini PC that hides behind the monitor

 in secret...Found online and ordered by  my dear SIL.

.Then,.Janet's husband, Bruce spent hours and hours setting it up for me.  Finally I can blog again.  Grandma O'Quilts is approaching the modern age...not so fast, I still am learning details..I still do not know how to put short cuts on the screen.

So hoping August will be the time my daughter comes to visit before her girl starts kindergarten...Yup...five already next week or so.

I have been without a computer for 10 days...

Talk about gratitude to have it up and running.

Friends and family and fabric  

Happiness!!!

 

Flag Day and More

 Loving America, even though it is currently in turmoil..I put together this flag top today.

This is my first time using pre-made iron on squares...It came out a bit funky. I like it anyway.

A horrid day till now....I was so distraught that I almost invited Pearl in for a glass of red wine...OMG  OMG'

But, then, my darlings came to visit...My heart, my hugs, my joy...Evan is 20, Lynsey is 16 and Dylan is 15.

Of course we needed a selfie!!!

The best time ever...They helped old grandma...all voluntary...all splendid..

Lynsey not only emptied the dishwasher, but cleaned out the fridge and organized the counter...That girl has so many organizational skills...

The boys:  Evan hammered some nails into the table to hang a bag.

Dylan had connived an agreement with me...If he made me bobbins, would I buy him an apparatus for his computer...Of course, Dear Old Grandma, never looked at the price...ha!!  But, I love him so.  He made 40 bobbins for me...Here he is sewing away.  I ordered his computer gadgets.  I am so happy and so grateful.  It was like old home week.   The best thing I did in my entire life was to raise these kids.  I love them so much.

Now, out of Portland:   Potatoes from their garden:

Aoife painted a picture of her new favorite chicken....Painting while her parents finish building the chicken coop.

And, here in Charlotte, Anne showing us her hand stitched Boro boxes.  We are going to do a class together on this in the fall.

Happy Birthday Anne!!!!!!!

At the end of the day....all is just spendid...Nothing like a little loving from ones you care about...

Note to self, always remember that every cloud eventually passes and the sun comes out.

xoxoxox

Finally Home...OMG

This card pouch for Irene is the first thing I have made in forever...I think this means that I am finally on the mend. It holds 4 decks of cards for "Hand and Foot"  I added the cards to make the gift complete.  Feels good to be sewing again.

 Today I came home from the hospital after a 3 day stay.

Seems like I am low on most everything....I am anemic, low on vitamins, low on Potassium, low on folic acid.  Seems like I lost my appetite while on those weight loss shots and have only been eating Oreos??  Ice Cream??

I have not been on those shots for 5 weeks. I have had a successful left hip replacement .  Somehow those shots still affected me.  Anyway, I am home today with antibiotics and a whole basket full of supplements.

I have been told to set my alarm for 2 hours and eat something then...In a million years, I never would have dreamed that I would lose my appetite!!!!!!

Listening to the doctors and eating, I feel so much better, that I even sewed tonight.

Still wobbly, but friends have offered to help me...so grateful.

Once again, I feel like I have been in jail...Reading a book on my patio was better than anything. Joy, relief and gratitude.

My sister coming by to meet the hospital van was so wonderful...And, so it goes....Age is upon me.

I now have had two total knee replaceents, one shoulder and two hips replaced...just one shoulder left....and I am in no hurry.

This is by far the hardest recuperation...but it is done and I am still above ground...so grateful.

Nothing but Chickens

Since my energy is low, and I am wobbly walking, as I recouperate from surgery...no sewing, just enjoying my niece, Aoife and her chickens.

Sunshine is the favorite...fun and beautiful.....Here he rides a scooter with Aoife.

Oh, dear, Oh, dear....Sunshine woke up this morning saying "Cock-a-doodle-doo"  This handsome guy is a rooster.

Roosters are not allowed in the city... Evidently Silkies cannot be sexed until now.....Oh, dear...'

TBTG my girl has a friend in the country who is taking Sunshine....Here he goes to his new home in a box.

Our girl says "goodbye" to Sunshine...

He does not seem too unhappy checking out his new digs...New friends too!!

Our fickle girl has  now caught one of the farm chickens....a stranger chicken that she does not  even know.

Look at the ugly feet....Oh, dear, Grandma O'Quilts evidently is not a chicken lover..

Lucky that Sunshine did not end up in a stew pot...

Nice to have friends.

Now, all about me!!!!!

Today, Tomorrow and Forever

Portland, Oregon,....Now it is just too much!!!  Chickens are inside the house on the sheep quilt  I made Aoife!!!!

Rope bowls from rehab!!!

Given to the nurses

And from my chicken crazy daughter....She has plans to hang with another friend who loves chickens..

OMG....Here they are enjoying the "drinking with chicken day".

I would not say that my girl is obsessed, would  you???

Someone asked me what was the most challenging sewing project I had ever done.

Well, in high school, I  took shop.  I re-upholstered the family car:  A Peugeot we had brought back from 
Europe when my father was restationed home.

And, above....The Irish dance dress I made for my girl for her competition  in the World's Irish Dance.

Today, I have another good behavior pass from re-hab to my apartment...So nice to be home.  Tomorrow the staples come out of my wound at the ortho...Wednesday, my quilters come to help me move my things from rehab, home to my apartment..I will have been in rehab for 3 and a half weeks....Thursday, I come home for good...............No pain at all...no pain meds either!!!

Lucky, lucky Grandma O'Quilts

Little Red Goes to Rehab

 

Grandma O'Quilts has survived her fifth joint replacement.  Guess what??? After 6 months of tortuous pain, I am  now pain free.  I still live at the rehab center as the staples have not been removed from the wound....But I am alive and well...It is now two and a half weeks post surgery!!  Whew.......Three days post total hip replacement, my daughter brought Little Red to the rehab center.

I had prepped these....eg cutting fabric and fusible fleece at home pre-surgery.  As I waited for the afters of the surgery to subside, I was able to make key fobs for the nice nurses and folks at the rehab center where I am staying.

They were very well recieved..  It is nice to be able to give back.

I was not able to blog from my Ipad...ignorance on my part...

Now, I am on a good behavior pass from the rehab jail...home for a few hours to finish up a few things.

Thank you all for all your support..

xoxoxoxo

Five Day Count Down

Today's surprise treat:  Linda M brought this totally thoughtful gift to my room this afternoon..A  yard of pristine feedsack from her family stash in Nebraska.. I just love it... Did I mention how much I love it...A perfect treat for me:

My dear daughter and her family has gone completely nuts about their new chickens.  Voila:  Bok Bok sitting on my girl's lap in the family living room...Dear me!!  A Barred Rock....

Em got hereself some chicken buttons!!!!

Aoife loving on Bok Bok

Mango here is a Buff Orpington.

Who would have known seven pet chickens would make dear Rosie, the dog jealous.

Our Aoife is quite the picture ham....

Now...five days until Monday ....Cinco de Mayo....my mother's birthday  AND my new hip operation.

I am nervous, but anticipating the eventual relief of this awful hip pain and maybe being able to lift my leg up into a car or into my bed without pain...  I am surrounded by love and encouragement.

PS:  OMG  Now there is a chicken in a quilt..

 

Small Things, Great Joy

 Honestly, stress reduction via potholders....totally works....no bad side effects

Keeping Pearl at bay, sewing works every time.

Our Aoife is almost 5...July...Here she is setting the table for Easter brunch..Good girl..

My grown and growing family on their beach vacation this year.  Good mommy on the left, then Evan 19, Lynsey 16, Dylan 15 and Ava 7

Wahoo does time fly!!

Cheery funky flowers from Trader Joe's

A lovely spring day, friends playing cards (Hand and Foot) must be an old person's game!!!'

A visit for dinner with my sister tonight brightened my mood.

So far my stats allow me to continue with my surgery on Cinco de Mayo...My mother's birthday...

I know she will be looking after me.

My girl is coming from Portland.

I seem to have lots of support around here...

Trying to turn my fear into faith..

Aftercare will be here at the rehab center where I live  TBTG

Life is not easy. but sometimes there are lovely twinkles.

A Total Mess

 
I have made a terrible/wonderful mess in my sewing room tonight.  I decided to make more key fobs...They are very well recieved around here...So I pulled the above fabric for that.  Then I thought I should work on potholders....cutting batting for those...ETC..Next came finishing the American flag in progress... Now I have fabric and projects all over the room with no energy to work on any of them.

Below are the two new chickens at my girl's house.  The family now has: 4 Silkies; 1 New Speckled Suxxex; 1 Bared Rock; and one Buff Orpington....Sigh... This is way over my head.  Chickens are evidently common in Portland, roosters not so much.

Aoife and her mommy made nest treats for the  neighbors.  They walked around Easter afternoon to deliver them..So adorable.

I wss so happy to see that my girl still had the easter eggs I had purchased from Germany 55 years ago.

I love blue bottles, as in my blue bottle tree to ward off the evil spirits.  A friend showed me her daughter's remodelling...Voila blue bottle light fixture

It seems like I have been blogging forever and ever.  It changed when Bloglovin went out of business..Somehow I lost my favorite blogs and never found them again... I am wondering if this old lady should stop blogging...Maybe  in the morning light I will feel differently

xo

Random Sewing , etc.

Bag presents for friends:

Potholders for sewing visitors:

Aoife visiting a friend's grown up chickens:

Happy butterflies for hope...a gift from Cherie

Adorable bunny from Anne.  Simple checkered tissue with a decorated big round bead, a bow and candy.

My latest venture using the 2 inch grid adhesive paper.

Happy Easter!!  Going to bed now.  I am planning on dreaming for the morning light.