Hope is the Thing with Feathers

 Varied Thrush:  Male on the ground, female in the tree!

So it is like Santa Claus.  I get up at 3 am to take my  cough pill....and finish the chocolate ice cream.

At this point life is annoying me...a good sign I might be slightly improving, still....

My wheezy self sat down at the computer and there it  was....a surprise present from my cousin in Washington state.  Such a reminder of good things in life...Thank you dear  cousin...xoxo

Back to bed...

A Quick Hello on Saturday Night

Aoife and family at Mt Hood last week. 18 inches of snow.

The good daddy with his Aoife.

Today, I hear it is snowing in Portland...maybe not 18 inches, but still.....

Susan gave me this  Pewter sunflower to help chase away the breathing blues

Where has Grandma O'Quilts been??

She has been stuck in her apartment for a week with a nasty asthmatic episode.  Tons of coughing and wheezing and crabbiness..Finally, last night I gave in to reality. Calling my doctor and accepting steroids and special pearl cough drops and antibiotics...etc..etc...My inhalers were just not enough as I hoped  neither was the nebulizer...

My girl in Oregon using my antique quilts, over a hundred years old for forts for Aoife!!!!

Taking it easy...jeeze....no choice here....watching some of Quilt 2024, and  below:

 Pola Quilting

Mac Barnes. t-shirt quilting

10 Sewing Supplies from the Dollar Tree (Sew Can She)

I think sickness is such a waste of time...Oh, well xox

Tonight

Evidently I am still jet lagged, even after 7 days  home from the west coast.  One am and  I am going strong.  Below appliqued peace signs made with my electric Accuquilt machine...

Below:  Nicely cut 4.5 inch blocks and 2.5 inch blocks

Gorilla fabric cut from an after Christmas sale shirt at Old Navy 10 years ago.

See Mrs. O'Quilts have fun in the middle of the night...By mistake I have purchased two of the same die...No problem, cutting twice as fast.

Today I was crabby as crabby can be.  Had a terrible nightmare that was so real, I could not believe it was not true once awake....Then a fire alarm...jeeze....then big bang construction on an apartment just above me... (the lady does have a sewing machine!!!!)  I always ask  new residents.

I sat with the crabby over frozen blueberries and Cheerios...My mind told me to just go to the pool and so I did....Hmmmmm  peace came quickly.  Imagine swimming inside when the temperature outside is 30 degrees!!!

Tomorrow is a brand new day. I plan on not feeling guilty if I nap and sew and do not change the world..After all, I am retired.

Happy New Year to me...Amaryllis from Trader Joe's.

Creative Whimsy has these two interesting posts: 

Fabric Storage 

Fabric Scrap Tips

Gifted Love

Amazing love, gifted today, a stunning bag.  Eve, you are amazing to think of me so, and to send me this work of art...one of the best bags I have ever, ever received.  Love the fabric, love the style, love the love inside...I want to know how to make them too!!

And inside, a gift only a friend would understand!!!!

Fabric from South Africa.... More love!!!

A birthday present from Sherry...pencil notebook..three sizes of pencil lead.

From me to you...My Accuquilt die of peace signs...starting a cuddle quilt for my niece in chemo.

She loves peace signs..

Amazon fun...magnetic holders...for everything....love and more love.

See the black on the sewing machine table and the red one below on the side cart.

OMG, my daughter LOVES her dog, Rosie.  On doggie Ancestry she found a sister.

This sister, Eva, lives in Oregon about 30 min from my girl in Portland.  They were in the same litter.

Of course Emily looked it all up and arranged a visit...

Voila:  the litter mates, Rosie and Eva

Brown Rosie on the left belongs to  my family.

From my daughter's spare bedroom in Portland shows, Mt. Hood in all its glory.

Now, about the  neighborhood trees????

Linda knows how to cheer a friend!!!

Tonight I had a date with the nu-step exercise bike.  Because I am so out of shape ....again...I decided on 10 min..so hard...Then I made friends with this amazing book and ended up riding 25 minutes...so proud of self..

Aoife wishing everyone a Happy New Year!!

I, too wish you all Happy and Peaceful New Year!!!

 

The Good, the Very Good

 First up, my friends, is the visit and dinner with one of my favorite quilt artists, Mac Barnes

 The process he is showing here is from the left over T-shirt quilt he made with the YMCA shirts.

These were lefover knits he had already reinforced with fusible interfacing.

https://www.instagram.com/macbarnes.art/

Mac  uses:

Pellon P44F fusible interfacing for his T-shirt quilts.

It is always delightful to have quilty talks with Mac.

 He will be teaching a T-shirt class in the above workshop series.

You can watch it for free, or you can pay $49 like I did, and watch the 30 workshops forever.

Below:  a picture of my 37 year old niece.  She is in the spectrum and has recently been diagnosed with Mucus Ovarian cancer.  Below she wears a chemo hat specially made for her by my friend Sally Cato, 

And what my Portland family does, the minute I leave.

The cold does not bother them a bit!!!!

Christmas deliciousness.....frozen cranberries with a Rosemary tree, out of the freezer, enjoyed with Champagne for a treat

Lucky me...A recipient, once more , of a beautiful piece of Christmas original art from Linda Swanecamp.

Mrs. O'Quilts  has recovered some from her trip...enough to make four blocks of Railway scrap patch

The progression of a baby quilt:

At age 3. Aoife's first card to her grandmother. 

A few days ago, when I first landed from the red eye, Portland to Charlotte, I was in such joint pain and so exhausted, that I thought I would have to tweak my obituary.

Two days resting and deep breathing, a bit of pool and a bit of walking.

I am better...motivated to sew tonight and check out a good book from our library.

Even though my body rebelled from the damp cold weather in Portland, my heart was warm with family.  It was a wonderful way to get ready for a New Year.

Merry Christmas Eve…in Portland

  

      OMG  OMG  African fabric sale for $3.49 a yard….Need has nothing to do with it…Collecting fabric and sewing fabric are two different passions….sigh…. I could not help myself…

http://FABRICSONSALE.COM

Just saying…got so excited….Hopefully a bit will be awaiting me once I am home.

The 16 patches I finished while visiting here.:  I was going to sew them together as one patches when I remembered the Marcia Derse, the Australian and the Africana fabric I have at home…Once more..excitement at fabric….So I am waiting….also did a potholder top with the scraps.

Always keeping a few hexes in my bag.  I am glueing them now.

It goes way faster than thread.  I press them with a.hot iron to set them and plan to stitch them together with a sewing machine!!

My girl made Aoife a new Christmas stocking.

All quilted and lovely

Aoife pushing cookie treats to the neighbors

Getting ready to go

My poor sister is spending Christmas Eve alone in the hospital CMC main with her daughter.

Alexis has had an allergic reaction to the chemo and will not be released until she can keep food down.

So stressful for our family.  This is a mucus type of ovarian cancer.

All the hospital restaurants are closed.

I feel so sad for them both.

Aoife and Rosie waiting for Santa

Home made crackers.

A lovely evening with my girl and her girl and her man…of course  I am wrapped in a woolen blanket by the new fireplace

Merry 

Christmas

Eve

Portland is Good to Me…More Friends and Such

 

Aoife is totally adorable when sleeping…especially under the angel Christmas quilt I made for her mother 35 years ago..Xxoo ox

My fellow travelers from my ALS support group…It has been almost 9 years since my dear man left us…These friends have loved ones who suffered the same fate…We have survived this trauma because of each other. Once again, we met in Portland for dinner…Nothing like friendship

Thank you Denise for the homemade Kiwi jelly…from your back yard..

Below the jelly roll I brought with me…and easy sew.

Horrified, I found that strips were not the same size…some were 1/4 inch bigger than others.  I usually do not buy jelly rolls because I am a scrap quilter….I have a number of ones that have been gifted to me.  They are perfect for times in groups that I need to talk and sew and listen and sew

Now sewing four strips together for 16 patches.

A random Portland parking sign…Never heard of the app:  Parking Kitty.

Love the reindeer in a quilt patch dress

 Learning the quilt thing early

Making Great-great-grandma’s Swedish sugar cookie recipe

And leaving them to cool right in front of me!!!!!!

I notice that I left behind in Charlotte the presents I had collected for my daughter…Oh, well.

Call from my sister, due to side effects of her first chemo treatment, Alexis is in the ER…doctors orders…Sigh…this life of ours..!!

My SIL made this for the front porch

And my 100 year old antique quilts are being used as a tent for Aoife…Sigh..again..

We all played Christmas Bingo….Aoife loved it…so much 3 year old fun

We can , at times, celebrate joy this season.