Random

It is always on the way to there that we discover here and get distracted.

Working in my African fish fabric just to see.

Then experimenting with snowballing, to see differently.

African fabric boosts my soul....xoxoxo

Aoife and her dog Rosie....down by the riverside, Portland, Oregon..

Aoife showing off.  It  has  been a very long time since I have been able to do this!!!!!!

Grandma O'Quilt keeps losing her reading glasses, just like  her mother before her.

To keep self out of Pearl's clutches, I ordered a few more...sparkles...three for 15$  Well worth the joy.

And, I thought my modeling days were over.  Ha ha Pearl....get a look at this!!!  I knew you would not approve!!!!

I am starting to feel sad that I have not seen Aoife.  I am missing everything because of Covid.

Lucky for me, my daughter shares so many pictures.

The thought of Covid stealing Christmas again is unbearable.

Here is our Aoife stopping on her walk back from the park to look at the flowers.

Meantime, at her mother's  house, Lynsey, queen of drama and 7th grade attitude, also shows off with two of  her mother's many cats.  Many cats in New Jersey, many cats in  Union county..OMG 

Thirty years ago Uncle  Kieran celebrated his 80th birthday by coming to America to visit  his kinfolk.

He bought and planted for each of  us a tiny two foot  Japanese maple.  Here is ours today,  It is starting the fall change.  It is stunning.

So it goes in Charlotte as fall creeps in.

Holy Mother

 

Children and the Half Day of School....

Aoife received this in the mail today, from me..her yet unseen American grandmother!!~

I am proud to say, that Aoife is my 4th grandchild to enjoy this quilt,  as well as the book.

Lucky me to still be here to love it.

Here at home, my grands are way past Brown Bear...While we are playing "Old Maid Cat", They happily tell Alexa to play for me such bands as: "Suicide  Machine" and the "Darkies".  Of course, all three had to tell me about, "Jane the Virgin"  soap  opera..  They always try to get a reaction out of me..and they are never disappointed. I roll my eyes and pretend I am oh, so shocked. (usually I am!!)

  They are a handful, but they are my darlings.  Especially darling when they are sleeping!!

Middle school darlings....sigh!!

They excel in Karate..both black belts, both proud of themselves.

Who said," I  have not lost all my marbles, but there is definately a hole in the bag somewhere?" 

Well, I took myself to Walmart Sunday for a few nails.  Bought a pumpkin...bought a rotten pumpkin.

Rotten on both sides, and old lady here never saw it.  Dylan threw it into the woods for the deer.

Now, I am decorating the woods. too..

Trying to get the Ipad up  and running so I can sew and zoom at the sewing machine with friends.  Of course neither child can help me.  With a snit and an eye roll, one told me that is why their chrome books do not work because their grandmother does not know the house password.  OK..Let's just face facts here...I am no longer 21...or 11 or 12!!!!

 

Last night Dylan put my new handicap license plate on my car.

Lynsey made an awesome salmon dinner.

I cut Insule-Brite 8 inch squares for my potholders.

Dylan walked home from school with a nice friend.  I let him come in with a mask!!

Lynsey was brave enough to write her teacher and school counselor about a problem she is having.

I am still going nuts.  I feel so isolated with all our quilting groups gone onto  Zoom.

Now, I am going outside to read....again.

Lynsey is making up with a friend from school she had a tiff with...via text

And Dylan is visiting a friend in the neighborhood .  The friend's grandparents came to get him.

Just a lovely snip of fall in the Carolinas.

Eva  send me your email too...so I can thank you for your comment...xo

Just a Beautiful Day, Feeling the Love

Found my Meadowland blocks hidden away in a box.

Why did I pick these colors?   And why are there only 4 made...Oh, well, they will just have to hang on the design wall for awhile...I must spice them up. They will certainly put anyone to sleep this way.

The boys are coming around saying they want to play with her brother..

Somehow, I do not think so.  What am I going to do????

Here she is taking a selfie of herself instead of coming right home.

Thank God, I just got two new pit bull puppies...to replace Zoe..

Today was better than Prozac!!

Thank you Tony, Sheila and Pat for the wonderful cleaning present 

I am in awe.  It is like a new house.

The lift in energy I have now, helps me get some of the flood things back together.

I realize now that I had unrealistic expectations of life with two children, alone, after a flood!!! 

I feel hope in the air.

Here Comes the Sun

Boo, joining me outside as we vacation while the house is being cleaned Wahoo!!!

OK...He was afraid of the cleaners.

And then, in the mail a 50$ contribution toward karate for the kids...such a happy day.

The clean house inspired me soooo much, that I cleaned off the table and put on old Halloween quilt on it with my favorite  flowers...sun flowers..

Aoife pushing her buggy to the park...

Wasn't Aoife just born??????

Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild

has such a great time on Zoom

Once a year we have a "My Favorite Things", Quilting notions and books, etc.

These are two things I purchased online:

A snap bracelet with a magnet for pins.

It also lays  completely flat...Amazon.

This Grippy Spray for rulers can be found on Ebay with free shipping.

Without the friends at CMQG, I would never have known about these products.

Way fun!

Just FYI...The comfort of friendship and a clean house makes a very happy grandmother!!!!

Hi Jane...send me your email so I can thank you properly for your encouragement  on my blog!!

Just FYI, I have renewed my McAfee protection. If  your blog has not been secured then I get a warning that it could be dangerous...Pls secure your blog to a Https:// instead of an http://

Damn You Pearl, Yesterday's Post

 All day long...kid sick, achy old me and that damn Pearl would not  let go.

This is what it took.....

Why did I not sew earlier??

Why did I  not know that Pearl hated sewing.?

Why did I not know that Pearl was afraid of spiders?

And sew it went.  Today brings the morning light as I am up for the bus.

So far, Pearl may be getting on that bus too...I did not see her leave, but I know she is gone.

xo

Moving Right Along

 Aoife joins our family of sewists...Welcome Dear One.

This top is now done...wahoo.  I loved working on it, but I am now ready for a different color pallet.

This picture shows the value.

This one shows the color.

Here, a lovely day at the farmer;s market in Portland, Oregon.

Aoife and her daddy and a donut!!

A lovely day in Charlotte too.  But, Grandma O'Quilts is from Miami.

Therefore, I need a sweater and some hot chocolate!!!

Here, Aoife admires the produce from her father's garden plot.

Too tired to do anything more tonight.

Kids in tears over their losses.  Counseling happened.

All calmed with a good game of Old Maid...Grandma lost, to everyone's delight.

Everyone asleep but me. xo

Vacation

In the process of making this quilt, which is all ready for top completion tomorrow, I had some choices.  I could have put on a border to calm down the quilt, but I chose to go with keeping in the brightness of the African fabric and style. Next, the navy blue fabric with yellow flowers (top border) at first seemed to work.  After seeing it online, I realized that the navy read medium.  The black I changed it to (side borders), reads dark. As we know, value does the work and color gets the credit.  

I am so thrilled with this quilt.  Thank you to Katy for the sew along that gave me the prompt.

 The children went off with their mother for the weekend.

I am watching a movie that makes me laugh.  I have not watched a movie in 6 months.  I am watching this so I do not have to pick out my errors in this quilt with angst, being so distracted by the movie, it is now done with ease.  Ease instead of angst...a winner.

Today I found out that Diane Keaton is 75.  In a few months I will be 74 .  I also found out that I do not look like Diane Keaton, nor do I have her energy, nor do I have her money.  Did I do something wrong?

The morning light says to me:  Oh, dear.. I kind of like my eccentric self just the way I am.

I have no television stations working in my house.  So, Netflex it is.

Some people take vacations at the beach.  Some at the mountains..and some just go anywhere for fun or connect with family...Me...very little family.  One cousin, one brother with issues, one sister overwhelmed with her lot.  One daughter across the land in Portland, One son in dire straits...so I am the  keeper of the light.  Exhausting. 

I vacation  in my brand new sewing room all set up by my friends.  It is grand! Grand for this time of my life anyway.  In my youth, I traveled the wide world. At my age, I no longer go wide, but deep.  That important travel is harder for sure.

A post is not ever the same without our Aoife.

As my daughter explains....two very needy beings.

Lessons learned  Fabriconsale.com and www.fabricwholesaledirect.com seem to be the same place.  Today, fabric needy me went on site at fabriconsale.com and bought African fabric for $3.99 a yard. Somehow, I forget how much fabric cost.  Because when I see just lovely African fabric for $4.99 a yard, I just skip right over it like it is not the bargain that it is....sigh...then it is out of stock by the time I realize that fabric is now $12 a yard elsewhere....I am a  slow learner.

Did I mention how much I miss my fabric artist friends and any art or creative friend, for that matter??.  Delta variant is really cramping my style. Zoom is OK, but there is nothing like hanging with like minded friends as they ply their art.

Stitch stitches along with me.  Where ever I go, he finds a basket there..

I see other bloggers with cats looking so much like our Stitch.

They are so not the real deal!!!

Close and Closer????

Guess I will let this percolate for awhile...I think it is OK, but not the best.

Feeling lazy tonight ....too lazy to try the two other choices I have...If I choose this one, a red binding should complete it...but then, the more I look at it, the value seems off...Then, is it getting too big??

Maybe tonight is time for a potholder or a book.

xo

 

Thank you for Your Friendship

"Small Things with Great Love", not yet quilted..but still...

 At noon thirty, after the pool, I spoke to Susie...She revealed that  CVS.com  has a vaccine registration site for flu and Covid.  There is a place on there to check for Covid booster.  Two hours later I was leaving Stonecrest with that booster shot in my arm...Big thanks to Susie!! 

Tonight I am auditioning border choices for this African Quilt..calling it "Going Home"

as in the elephants all going in the same direction...home.

I was so thrilled to finish this top today at the Good Vibes Zoom Retreat.

When I looked closer, Ugh...one square is inside out...I hate unpicking things.Ugh again.

As for the borders, I want the effect of the main part of the quilt just continuing into the border.  I tried that little yellow strip to separate, but do not like it.

Any votes on which fabric looks best to you for the border?

I can see already several to eliminate!!

A note about the other day when I bought my little Rosemary bushes.

There was a line at the plant section check out.  I had my cane and my plants.

The two "old" people in front of me told me to go first.  I told them thank you and that I loved them.  The next person in line said she wanted me to love her too...so I could cut in front of her.  I said, I love you too. 

 As I left, I looked back saying and waving, I love you all.  And all of them waved back at me and said I love you too...It was a moment of humanity and smiles.  I did not know their religion, nor their political affiliation...This charming moment was just a touch of  kindness that stayed with me all day.  xo   Hope....

Can You Believe it??

Such a wonderful day

I have nine of twelve blocks made...I put the question on instagram...Should I continue or just make it a table topper....??

Above are my new handcarved birds in a bit of a nest.  I plan to make a garland with fishing line and rosemary.  OH, NO...Stop everything.  Lynsey seems to think Rich brought these for the entire family and so she should have input...Sigh....That girl!!  She wants to hang them on every ceiling light cord.  That's OK...But.....Today I bought the little Rosemary bushes in case I get my way.  We have five birds!!  Should I share with Lynsey????

Below, our darling Aoife, showing off her dimples and the climbing box her daddy made for her.    

                                                                                                                                              

                                                                  

                  For some crazy, I was going to stay in bed today after the bus. 

 I did not!! I got up, I made my bed, I put on a favorite shirt and I went out to do errands on my list.  The Cosco reward cert  had been there for 8 months while I argued with them to mail it...They refused.    I went next door to Lowes for my little Rosemary bushes for the birds, I dropped things off at Goodwill and picked up some  meds at the pharmacy.  I asked there for my booster Covid shot.   They declined me.  I needed to be on cancer drugs or have had an organ transplant, etc. 
That's OK...next time round I will get the shot. Grateful I am not that sick.

Katy's sew-a-long.   I have never joined an online sew-a-long before...

 I never dreamed I would get so excited about it, that I would just forge ahead to finish.

The main part of this quilt above should be finished tomorrow.  Then I will either wait for the next cue...or find my border and backing ....eeeekkkk so exciting.

Finally back to reading after months of being brain dead.

Large print is  the answer.  I guess that is the next step in my aging process!!

Dear me....

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

Flowers Amongst the Thorns

Lovely highlights of the day.  Here I am using the design boards, hand made by Linda.I am distracted by UFO's I found, that I had forgotten

A lovely set of birds, hand carved by Rich..He put little eye screws on top so I  can string them. I am such a fan of handmade things.  I am going to weed out the rest of my treasures to keep the ones I love, like these.

Guess who is preparing for her first bike ride?

Here she goes.!!

 Middle school grandma hanging on a thread.  This morning was the morning that Dylan struggled to get  out of bed, refused breakfast and insisted on wearing to school the very same clothes he has slept in for two nights and worn for two days to school.  No brushing of the teeth.  Very mouthy to his grandmother.

His sister left for the bus stop without him.  I did my deep breathing and went back to bed.  Sigh. Just wait until a pretty girl gets sight of this 6th grader today!!!

Hmmm once they were on the bus, my brain started working overtime.  I searched his room..sure enough, there, slid beneath his mattress was my I-pad.  He evidently had guessed the code and spent all night watching whatever.  Poor Dylan, got the shock of his life once home from school...lots of work was awaiting him and NO, ZERO, NONE of his favorite technologies....He did laundry, blew the porch clean and the deck, garbage and recycling out, etc, etc...more and more of it.  Humbled for now, he went asleep early...sigh... I-pad code now changed!!!!

Today, the other one received rave reviews on her 504 plan from the staff...Nice!!. All done on Zoom.  Two Zooms today as Lynsey chatted with her doctor on a video visit after school.  She is so grown up.  Tonight she made a lovely dinner.  That girl can saute veggies perfectly. So proud.  And, I did not even ask her to make dinner.  

Tomorrow they are spending the day with my sister..xoxo!!

At my age, this has even more meaning...Thank you Leonard!

The thorns still hurt, but friends are the flowers that keep me upright, most of the time.