The Parts Department and More

My dear Stitch.....I do understand!

 Except for the way Stitch does it...relaxation is all about the parts department..

Sewing scrap strips together for still another fun project.

 A yellow nine patch

Cleaning my space, 

I found a few leftover green triangles..

I could not let them be....

Bagged now with Christmas parts.

 Orphan blocks from another quilt...
Cotton and Steel..

And now...voila...
 A new shelf for my past overindulgences
My son drove to IKEA and brought back
this $29 shelf...to help with my mess...He and the children assembled it..
.My guess is that this shelf
will not stay so pretty for too long...
Just for today, it is fun to pretend that it will never look like the one next to it.

Of course,  I knew it...after working on parts,
the place is another disaster...sigh...
My grandmother said, "Creative Minds are Rarely Tidy"

The gift continues to be my son and the miracle he brings.
So far...he has repaired the chain saw to cut down the old apple tree...
He has a job Tuesday taking someone else's tree down. Today, he cut someone's grass.
Unfortunately, this is all using my only car.
He takes care of his kids, he plays with them, he helps them with their rooms,
He cooks for them, he cleans the kitchen, he does laundry, he does the garbage.
He does my yard, he replaced the burned out head light in my car and put in oil,
He makes me laugh, he made me pancakes when I cried.
It is a miracle.
He has been driving my car to meetings and to jobs, but I cannot let this be
I have to have my car...especially with Dylan so allergic to bees and fire ants.
Wishing so much that there was a junky car that runs, for $1500 to $2000
I have little money, but cannot see him taking two buses and a train for 3 hours
 to get where he needs to go. Especially when he is doing so well..
He told me that he could have had several construction jobs last week if he had only had wheels.

And, with all his help, how can I send him back on the bus to his ripped tent into the woods.
We all love him so.
When he spends the night, I find all three kids in the room with him at night.
What to do??  What to do?
Since money is tight, it is one day at a time..
Being spiritual...and waiting for the light.
So much gratitude for this splendid surprise in my life.

I thought that these two links were interesting...xo

From Go Go KIm...taking yellow out of plastic
rock painting...underwear?

And So it Goes.....

We remember that "Stitch" was the cat's name in the shelter

when we adopted him...He was meant to be a quilting cat

Such a love...

Lynsey chose this thread for the binding because it was so pretty and it could be seen

The rest of us try to hide our binding thread.

Here she is...sewing away...nails courtesy of Uncle Steve.

Her quilt is now finished and covering a doll upstairs in her room.
It is pouring rain here...for days...I have cracked my bedroom window so I can hear it.at night
makes for better sleeping.

Making a different block from Pat Sloan..fun..

It is a 13 and a half inch block..should go with my new pineapples.
if I decide on a sampler from Civil War reproduction fabric.

Tula number 10...go Grandma...go!

I am reading about a bit about courage...
We cannot be courageous and content at the same time
as having courage implies taking emotional risks.
Interesting stuff...just for awhile..Brine Brown.
Then back to reading pablum so I can relax.

So, is it courage to put my needs out there so folks can help?
So much easier to give than to receive.
Or to stuff feelings inside not to make others  uncomfortable.
Since my quilting blog has also become my therapy blog,
just writing this helps me to buck the tradition for my own survival.
Can you believe this philosopher at only 5:pm sans vino tinto??

Midnight fun...Grandma, Evan and his daddy....
Creative some-mores with chocolate chips and marshmallow.
My son is here today.
I was sleeping so he walked from the bus stop to my house.
Brave soul.
He is helping Evan sort thru his clothes.
He is helping me be calm
He is only one person and we all clamor for his attention.
We all need him so.
He told me that "his roommate"  in the parking garage,
has started Methadone treatment too.  All because of my son.
He saw how well Eamon was doing, so he started too.
We are all connected .
 Holding each others hand through thick and thin.

Ugh...the rain brought in a roach...Eamon killed it...TBTG
I usually call Derrick, our Orkin man.
Derrick says...is it dead or alive??
I say...dead...Derrick says, I can only kill it once!!!

Sweet Memory Lane

Evan and Lynsey at Halloween forever ago with my son and my DIL

 My grandmother collected pigs forever.
  She often mentioned how she loved pigs and how smart they were.
 Growing up in Sweden as a young child, it was one of her chores to feed the pigs.
So for Christmas in 1978???  I made this for her.   I always loved it.

This embroidered cat pattern was from Better Homes and Gardens magazines...
in the late 70's, I think.
I would trace the pattern on muslin blocks and mail them from my home in Miami to my grandmother living in Arizona.  Grandma was in her late 80's, early 90's.  She would complain that her eyes were not so good any more and that I expected too much from her. Yet each time, I would have them all back in like two weeks.  My mother told me to keep sending them...lol
A treasure for me, as my grandmother was a role model to help me keep fighting.

 This easy quilt is one of my favorites of all times, that I have made..
My purple "X" block

 This wonky quilt of mine won 4th place in our show...
NO ONE won first, second or third...
Really????

My vintage collection of potholders...

 This is the only perfect present that I ever found for my brother and his wife.
At one time they had 20 cats in their "no pet" apartment in Miami.  I made each cat a small stocking for Christmas.  Love....it is all about Love.

How about a shout out to my dear friend, Bea...

Bea at Bea's Hive
For Bea...my source of dignity, grace and strength.

The Prayer

Check out Susannah's cool food blog..