Autumn Gathering

Ava's new shirt.  Just recently bought by her mother

As they all do...Two and a half year old Ava promptly found a pair of scissors and cut a nice piece out

of the front of the shirt...Lynsey was excited to fix it...

Honestly, I did not think that it was possible to repair...

Tonight, I found some sheep flannel for a pocket.

There is a sheep on the outside and a sheep on the inside of the pocket.

Somehow, Tinkerbell fits just perfectly inside.  I think the girls will be pleased.

A lovely afternoon with show and tell at our CMQG.  In the church parking lot, all masked up with chairs 6 feet apart.  I did not take many pictures, but Aly, here caught my vibe.

She is finishing off one of the bags for the holiday outreach.  Look at her dress...Wahoo, it is foxes.

Below, our Heather with her quilt...pattern by Sujata Shah

Note our stunning day...Carolina Blue skies!!

Again, Heather has finished a quilt ...This one, Be Not Afraid,

for sure should help all of us during this time.

Below:  Diane Dos shows the flimsy baby quilt she is making.

Feeling so happy for my lovely backyard in the woods with mighty fine weather. The minute I am out there with a book, I relax...yellow leaves blowing in the breeze, two cats and on dog...and such peace.

Oh, boy...my Christmas (Thanksgiving Cacti) are here reminding me that it is now time to fertilize them.  By the first frost, they come inside to the kitchen window.

They live perfectly all summer, underneath this bench on our deck.

Lynsey will be 12 in February...That is 4 months away.  She is becoming so grown up....and still such a baby.  She hides from me when I come in the room.  Tuesday when the bulk pick up came for the old dishwasher and old hot water heater...they found hand written notes on each..."Good bye now hot water heater...Thank you for all the hot water."  and "Good bye old dishwasher...we will miss you".  Of course, she was looking out the window when they came and was thrilled that they smiled.  She is also using the leftover old hot water heater box in the garage to make a port-a-potty.  

Please God, I have no idea why....

Her daddy took her to the store for the paint.

Now, the O'Quilts family is the proud owner of a turquoise porta-a-potty in our garage.

Sew not my style!!!

No pictures of darling Aoife today...However, I spied Stitch in the basket of stuffed animals...

North Carolina has a link where  you can check your mailed ballot to be sure it has been received and counted..(thank you Sherry)... Ballottrax  It was so reassuring to see that our ballots had been recorded!!!

Today was such a lovely day.

Just Wednesday Night Stuff

Delectable Mountains...

Thanks to a little help from my friends....I have all my Delectable Mountains blocks finished.

Five years is not too much for a little UFO to be sitting around...Is it now???

Just look at Aoife's first passport photos!!

Two and a half months old...the family is at the post office as we speak, trying to make an appointment for our girl's first passport...

After she get her US passport...the application will go in for her Irish passport. Our girl will have dual citizenship.

That is all for a Wednesday...cuz I have the dreaded dentist appointment in the morning.

I am exhausted just thinking about it...

xo

 

Much Needed Covid Distractions.

Looking at life through a different lens

Sitting outside enjoying the sky and trees when..Voila..

I saw that heart.  I could not see it with my naked eye...but through

the lens of the camera...there it was!!!!...

Different perspectives can enrich the soul

I am sure it was my dear man reminding me of his love and encouraging me on.

xoxoxo

A surprise visit and present from a wonderful friend...I was so uplifted!!

This blog post must be marked for the many times I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Also, I got rave views from PT Wednesday on my progress.

 My sister now has enough money for a car...thanks to the generosity of friends and

the brilliance and efforts of my DIL and her husband, Brandon!!

My son took the day off  from work.. He did the grocery shopping with the two children ( a half day at school).  He put our Lynsey in charge of dinner for two nights..

She picked out Salmon...and made the most delicious dinner with our family recipe.

The next night she made barbecue chicken legs...

I continue to be amazed at the O'Quilt's current good fortune when it comes to grandchildren!!.

Someone was doing a vocabulary test in my sewing room.  One word was "domain"

I said..."This sewing room is MY domain"...Ha Ha... Look at the cup of tea she had made herself in order to concentrate!!  (She learned about tea from her granddaddy.)

Evidently she feels that this room is her domain as well.

The last two backpacks for outreach...Here, our Dylan is the model.

It is such a relief that my part is done.

We used this tute: Sew She Can

Linda made the children awesome cat cookies.

She said that they could share...I was so grateful.

My girl made this darling outfit for Aoife.

Baby is 2 and a half months old now...

Tummy time....Those Irish sheep are everywhere..

Reminder: ...Aoife is pronounced E fuh, with accent on the long E

A great Irish name!!!

 

Always our Aoife and more

Aoife enjoying her walk to he park... asleep..

Aoife enjoying her walk to the park.... awake..

I had a lovely chat with Aoife tonight...she was babbling and blowing bubbles..

Sooo adorable!!!

Last year our CMQG made placemats for the Meals on Wheels community.

They were given out during the holiday season in December.

This year, we are making small comfort quilts with tote bags to

give to the homeless children involved with the Meals on Wheels group.

The above bag is the third I have made...3 more to go...I forget how many quilts...maybe five..?

I should have these done in the next 10 days, then I will be off sewing for the holidays myself.

 The latest in the O'Quilt's saga......

This is my sister's car...Does not look like she will be able to get to work anytime soon.

My sister works 6/7 days a week.  This is so crazy...She has two adult children, both in the spectrum. She is a single mother...motherhood is a never ending job.

My DIL put up a Go Fund me page on Facebook...How nice is that?? Grateful to have my smart DIL a great part of our support system.

OMG  In making that bag for the children, I broke two needles..Ugh..

However, looking for more needles, I found the above box of 100 needles that has been missing for two months...I had been looking for a much bigger box for some reason!!! This is good news.

A good day....in spite of remote learning...tears , confusion...but we got thru it.

Hot soup and stew...A good day.

Aoife with an "A"...and More...

Aoife....What's not to love....!! Ten weeks.

I am experimenting with masks that take a filter.

They are a royal pain to make.

The quilted basket face mask!!

 I decided to have some fun with them.

Be scared, be real scared!!! My first Halloween mask.

More fun fabric from Spoonflower for my 2020 quiltlet

I am not going to even start this until 2021 because...you know why!!!

2020 is not over and we are all ripe for more drama!!!!

Zoom in to see these milk cartons....levity...that is what is needed now!

My girl is thrilled that the bloomers she made Aoife almost fit.

Aoife is 10 weeks old.

My "Singing the Blues "  quilt top done.

It is what Rebecca at (Cheeky Cognoscenti)  calls a NU-FO (new project)  Instead of a UFO (unfinished project)  It is avoidance behavior!!!

The HST blocks are left over from this quilt

pattern by the brilliant Sujata Shah. The Root Connection

Below is the backing for the "Blues" child quilt.

I wanted so much to hoard this fabric and not use it...But I got my grandma panties on and just did it.

Here is a catchy little tune that suits the world..Gotta give a smile.

 I am All About that Bass

Life on Life's Terms

 For my friend Suzette..potholders to her liking..

Lynsey is writing a book on anxiety and depression.   I am paying her $5 for each chapter.  She is also planning to open a bakery with her mother.  If I want, I can be part of the bakery.  There will be a chair at the back where I can sit and sew.  She said that she imagines girls coming into the bakery and praising the sweets...then, they say to each other,  "That is the girl who wrote the book about depression and anxiety...the book that helped the world!!"

I am changing focus...Thanks to Kathy, Linda and Lisa.

The below pet is a Marbled Orb Weaver...perfect for Halloween.

This one is a Writer Spider.

Never mind, I am sticking with quilting!!!

Lynsey is now making homemade smoothies. She prefers hers with a scoop of ice cream on top

A rough day today....cheered on by pictures of Aoife.

The finale....our Aoife in the lamb outfit I sent her...

Look for the Light

Joy...pure joy!!

Last night, Lynsey prepared to go to her mother's house for a few days.

I said, I am going to miss you when you are gone...Immediately, she put on this song:

You're Going to Miss me When I'm Gone

A Lovely Night Breeze Through my Sewing Room WIndow

Collecting for my 2020 quiltlet.  Spoonflower....love!!!

Given a huge bag of pears by a neighbor...no wasting food!!

Last night I peeled them all and cooked them down into pear sauce for smoothies, etc.

All ready here for the freezer:

You know Thoreau's saying, "Humility like the darkness, reveals the heavenly lights" ?  Well exhaustion reveals simple pleasures. (not by Thoreau!!)

Physical therapy decided today to up the ante... Number 5 on the bike, higher numbers on the bars...walking more...OMG.  I was so exhausted that once home, my outside reading led into a 2 hour nap...right there in the chair....book open, but not read.

Resting in my sewing room now:  window,open, light breeze, cicada music,  I am enveloped in peace.

Once again, Aoife's daddy shows his support for quilting and quilting apparatus:

On the ruler, on the kitchen scale is our 10.5 pound Aoife.

Pictures of Aoife give me great joy!!

The 12 blocks of Shoofly.

Now to putter in my sewing room to the tune of Netflix..

God, Please Give me Strength....

Have a good day, love from Aoife!!! 

Harris Teeter loose tea tin....Thank you Beth!

From quilty gift wrap at least 25 years old...still wet with glue.

is...my lovely new pin tin..Once I have the second one done, I will spray them both with gloss.

Dylan's smile belies the fit he threw when asked to help his grandmother.

Mouth galore from a ten year old...After he had washed and cut the oranges, he used the new electric squeezer to juice them....He loved it after all!!  He then poured us each a glass and threw the orange peels into the woods beside our house for the deer.

Are boys and girls really that different???  I think the answer must be YES!

Dylan is 10 and Lynsey is 11...both are February birthdays, one year apart.

Last night she found this recipe online and wanted to start it at midnight...Nooooo 

This morning while I was napping, her daddy got the ingredients for her.

Lynsey is always on U-tube . Her favorite site is : Bake It

The girl got it into her head that she needed to make a cake from scratch. cream cheese frosting too.

Lynsey made an adorable short video describing her cake...green for grass, orange pumpkins and mud...sprinkles of mud!!!  I did not know how to upload it. The cake was delicious...just yummy.

Now the missy is decorating for Halloween....I am letting her go for it.

Her brother could care less...Although at 10 years old, he still wants to be sure Santa will be able to come even with the Covid...

Wondering if the below Shoo-fly....scrap could be used for the middle of a cuddle quilt???

Guess I need to make 3 more blocks....Does it look OK for kids?

I do not like the two children on so much technology.

Dylan has lost most of it for his behavior anyway.

Tonight, my son went to a meeting and out with his friends.

I googled, "What  is old age, now-a -days?"  Old in 2020 is considered at 73

Very old is considered at 80...No wonder I am exhausted.!!!

I knew it was quiet....but chose to enjoy it...Mistake....

Off of their games, they went into creative mode.  They went into the upstairs linen closet with sandwiches and chips and drinks.  They threw all the pillows and quilts and towels on the floor outside the closet so they could have more space in which to play.  They took fabric strips from my sewing room and tied all the doors together...For them, it was  a grand ol' time.  They were laughing so much.  It was almost 11 pm.  For me, not such a good time.

Instead of laughing, I almost cried.

Maybe tomorrow, I will give back all the technology just for my own sanity!!!!!!!

The News of the Day

Aoife's "newborn" hat may finally fit....Baby does not care..!!!!

Finally  done...ooooh my Kaffe flimsy ...whew..

Now backing choices...I do not feel like piecing a backing, but my choices may be OK with value, but not congruent with the style of the quilt.  Maybe if I put it away for awhile, I will feel like piecing a backing later..but I want to have it done now!!!!

This one below may fit, but I love it and am hoarding it (shame)

A treat tonight:  Lynsey decided to make dinner and would let no one help.

We were to have a veggie fry, but she decided to make spaghetti too.

She is filming herself for her U-tube station....OMG

Now she has pulled up a recipe for pumpkin something and texted her father to bring a few cans of pumpkin on his way home from a meeting.

Lynsey for sure will have Lynsey Lou's Cafe as she dreams of..

Her organizational skills far exceed mine...wow...

Today, I was whining at physical therapy.  They had put me in the "baby steps" category.

I really wanted the giant step group.  After much talk about my progress that I could not see., she took me for a walk.  Walking with her, I saw a huge difference in my progress since going to physical therapy. 

It was so encouraging..

Also encouraging was Dylan's teacher...so supportive.  She said that children with disabilities had a 100 times more difficulty in remote learning...

 Today was the day, I decided not to subscribe to naysayers' crazy and not to be afraid.  I did it the Nike way....I just did it!!!!!!  I drove to the post office and mailed my ballot.  I have voted!!  Interesting that there is a code on the ballot where you can trace your ballot to see where it goes.  DONE!!

Now, I am going to sew!!!