The busy...

  So, what am I supposed to do while the ongoing drama of the new kitchen proceeds.  Cannot walk on the newly laid tile, gotta get all those potholders done..DONE!  30 potholders...I have outdone myself.

 10 are spoken for for the fall bazaar, 4 are gifts of great thanks for folks who were irreplaceable when my mother was in the hospital, 2 are for my sister who wants to give them for gifts and has no time to make them herself...That leaves only 14 for my holiday giving.  But, as we know, done is such a wonderful word in this busy life of ours.  Remember this post, http://oquilts.blogspot.com/2009/11/potholder-tutorial.html if you want to make some yourself.

 Above you can see the gift of love as friends help baste a small quilt made by my sister for a soldier's child.

Potholder art?

I think I am getting philosophical (nutty) in my old age..Potholder art?  Am I as bad as my husband and his peaches?  Making potholders is a messy business for my sewing room.  Snippets of scraps are everywhere waiting to be the chosen ones.  So maybe not art, but folk art, or just pleasing to the eye.  Because for me, if it is not "art" in my little way, then why bother?  I am past the day of lets just get it done.  I am in the day of lets do it pretty and share some joy. Contentment in a potholder..in the making of it and in the sharing of it..every minute counts.  I know in my heart that my roast chicken tastes so much better when I take it out of the oven with a pretty potholder!

Mother Theresa said, "Small things with great love".  Even in a potholder (I added that part:) lol  P.S My husband just came in and wondered outloud! how was it that I was putting myself and Mother Theresa in the same blogpost...Everyday a new laugh:)

New to me blog ,http://multicoloredpieces.blogspot.com/ brings the world just a little bit closer, encouraging  the mind to see just a little bit further.  From the small spot across the world to the small spot in my yard, life is good.  Below, Lynsey checks out the green peppers still growing in the back garden.

 The wonder of the worm...the absolute wonder...

 When we lived in Miami, my husband grew roses on 80 rose bushes.  The work he did and the prizes he won.  But, life has changed and here in Charlotte, the Knock-out roses grow themselves with no work at all.  At our age now, that is the way we like it...automatic roses! Totally spoiled!

 The winter garden has not yet been planted, but there is hope...lots of hope..the lettuce, broccoli, sprouts and cabbage are just awaiting!

 And then there are the peaches.  Today we took the grandchildren to the farmers' market by the airport.  In Charlotte it is the end of the peach season.  Mind you, our extra freezer in the garage is already chock full of peaches...but that didn't stop Himself..OMG, I think he got carried away again..We will be having peach milkshakes, peach crisps, peach oatmeal et al...till the next Fourth of July!

Next came  the honey.  At the farmers' market there were several people selling honey from their own hives.  Evan bought a jar of honey from someone who had brought the bees with him so we could all watch what it was all about.  This six year old was thrilled.  He said that he would rather have the honey from those bees than the popcorn he had been hoping for.  As he rode off with Granddaddy today toward home, he had between his knees, his newest treasure...the honey.

I used to think that I was so wonderful and open minded that there would certainly never be a generation gap with me...special me..But, as our outing today progressed post farmers' market to the airport to watch the planes take off and land, my six year old grandson announced that this real airport was cool...as he had never  actually seen an airport, but he knew all about them from playing a video game.

Small drops of joy...Lynsey

The simple life is taking Monkeys for a walk.

 One fell out and bumped his head!

 Reading Doggie a story while Monkey rests with his boo-boo!

Two and a half years old..such joy...how could I ever be sad?

The gratitude and the Dolly quilt

 Yesterday I finished the quilt for my Dolly.  I am thrilled that I tried the free motion quilting and felt successful..it was after all a small project.  Using up scraps was the least of the fun.  It was just fun and I am grateful.  It was a take on the quilt done by...Melissa on the post she shared on Moda Bake Shop a few weeks ago.

 I am so grateful that I have quilting to enjoy...so very grateful.

 And with quilting comes quilting friends...yup..more gratitude..sounding sappy here...well so be it.  Sounding repetitive...well I am getting older..so I can get away with it!!  I hope:)

 Today'sit and sew brought so much fun.  A wonderful group of friends, the hum of the sewing machines. And, look...I finished ten potholder tops and one set of strings for the season's gifts.  I would never have accomplished so much without my friends and of course the M&M's my sister brought:)  A wonderful potluck lunch didn't hurt either.

And then there is the mother thing.  I hope you all do not think I am arrogant in thinking that my mother is so special.  I am very grateful that I was able to laugh over canasta with my grandmother when she was 99 and a half.  And I am grateful that I am able to laugh and chat and gossip with my mother at age 90.  But, I think I have got it now.  My mother is special to me and she has not been the same since she got home from the hospital.  She has not once picked up her beloved Kindle that she got for her 90th birthday.  She is forgetting how to use the computer and thus struggles with her poetry.  She is unable to stand like she used to and today Patrick had to lift her from the wheelchair to her recliner. That is something that never happened before.  She struggles swallowing and without food, her energy is weak.  She feels sad.  I get it that I cannot fix these things.  I get that life comes like a river and I cannot stop the river.  My worry and fight will not fix whatever is going to be.  So I will bring her flowers and sherbet and chocolate milk shakes with protein and visit and laugh with her and work hard on acceptance, very hard. 

Sit and Sew

Had a wonderful sit and sew at my house today.  When we finished laughing and sewing...some sad old someone told me he had been neglected!

Bragging to self!!

I had 7 Green Peppers left on my plants...eeekk..look at our lunch cooking in the oven.  I even used some of our fresh Basil.

I am a Charlotte wanabee:)

Sure wish I could do what Charlotte can do:)  You go Charlotte!

Talk about loving orange....

Beans

That dollar spent on a package of bush bean seeds was well worth it.  This is my third crop, ready for dinner tonight.

 If you want to be happy for the rest of your life...sew!!  Everything can be about quilting:)

A lot of nothing and a little of something

The lack of posting around here has had many reasons, family stressors aside.  The other day,  I was trying to chill on my porch reading the latest issue of Studio magazine when I got totally inspired.  I decided to go into my quilting room and re-do.  Of course all that did was make a just terrible mess in both the room and in my disposition.  On and on and blah blah blah....Today, I feel better with this small corner organized.  My Civil War fabric, fabric that is already ironed on on Wonderunder for applique, "new" fabric made from scraps, and scraps from oil cloth etc are all in labeled boxes.

 When I was taking a picture of the organization, I decided to also photograph Emily's jacket from 3rd grade. The summer before I had had a terrible back injury leaving me unable to sit or walk seemingly forever.  When finally I could sit awhile I took this old jeans jacket from Goodwill and sewed her name on the back in sequins, by hand.  At the time Emily was in a prestigious school where the girls already were comparing labels on their clothes.  All the girls in her third grade class wanted a jacket like this with their names.  We didn't tell them that I had made it, so they assumed it came from their favorite (at that time) store, The Limited!  There were a few lessons in status and labels learned that year. That was 18 years ago and the jacket on my wall is now practically Vintage!

 Today I went with friends to IKEA.  In the children's department, I found this duvet set.  This child's duvet cover for $8 or $9  gives me 2 and a half yards of fabric almost 50 inches wide, plus a little pillow case.  I am delighted.  I think it is adorable.

As for quilting, I am working diligently on Evangelina's quilt.  I cannot show it because her mother, Joy is nosy.  Evangelina is refusing to be born because her mother is sooo ready for her.  A portent of stubborn things to come:)

Trip Scrap quilt done

I loved playing with colors for this little quilt.  I love the difference in color between flash and no flash.  And I love that I have a stash from forever because you just never know which fabric is so perfect.  This backing I bought in Miami and I have not been there in 18 years...sooo...but it is happy now in a new home on this quilt.

Baking and scrap quilting.

A wonderful way to spend a Sunday night is to sew a scrap quilt.  The sense of accomplishment in finishing up is great.  Voila my funky scraps from my Trip Around the World quilt.

And then...behold...what do I find in my mess...OMG...a whole entire tube that was extra from the Trip quilt...Lordy...I would have done something quite different.  As you can see above, I was really scrapping it.. The lesson of course is that you can never use up scraps...only make more..:)

To the rescue, as always, is my husband.  Tonight he made homemade bread for dinner.

Musing

1.  The good thing...Thanks to my wonderful honey..I now know how to add a "button" to my blog:)
2.  The not so good news....My mother has not been the same since she got out of the hospital 3 weeks ago.  She has been unable to go out for a ride and she is fatigued.  Disease process.  Hate that Parkinsons.
3.  Medium news.  Bad me decided to go ahead and buy the grey owls for the border of my Trip Around the World.  I just really like it and am indulging myself.  Good news is that when I put "Alexander Henry's Spotted Owl Fabric in Grey" in the google header, it came up with several places to buy it with different choices on price.  That is very good news in our busy society instead of calling stores, etc.  So I bought it.  I chose this site Fashionable Fabrics because they were cheapest and varied the shipping price and were fair about it.
4.  Good news is that it is soon September and I am cleaning my screened in porch to have my friends and family join me outside and maybe even my sewing machine soon:)
5.  Good news is that after 20 years of living in Miami terrified of hurricanes and sleeping under mattresses in the hallway during hurricane Andrew, I no longer live on a coast.  

Trip top so far...eeek

I get so excited so easily:)  I have decided to keep this square.  I am working eg. thinking about a border.  Of course quilting always being a challenge...I am out of grey owl fabric...but that is ok...

The beauty of Pakistan's art!!

I want you to meet my new friend,...Khadija.  A beautiful side of Pakistan is portrayed on her exciting blog  I hope you will visit her yourself.  She has prompted me to get out my lovely hand painted camel skin lamps that I bought in Karachi when I was a young world traveler!   I especially like this post of hers Pakistani truck art.

 The holiday candelabra I keep up all year round as I do this lamp.  It is 80 years old from my grandmother.

My fair play quilt in the background over the piano, "A-mazing"Cats"

Khadija...you have me soo excited now!!

Cuddle quilt for a boy..finished and quilting friends!!!!

Finished...my donation quilt for a boy.

 Look how nicely the back from the IKEA sheet turned out.

 Lucky me has quilting friends to help me baste.

So many laughs at quilting.  So many ages and so much in common...How lucky we are.

Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild

I had a great time at the Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild tonight.  AND I so do not know how to get this button on my blog...I can get it on a post, but not on the blog...HELP..

Trip process 3

Finally I can type..finger still taped but smaller...and I can work on my Trip Around the World quilt.  I thought I would show you the process here..The strips and the tubes and half the main part of the quilt done.  Looks like it will need a border to make it big enough, but I will see about that later.  Right now I am just so grateful to be back doing..  A design wall helps for sure here as does taping snips of each fabric in a numbered grid.  This is an easy quilt if you like puzzles!

today

i was having a good day. actually taking a new client today after a few weeks break with my mother.  i decided to cut some flowers for the bathroom and instead of cutting the flower, i cut off a small tip of my finger which will not stop bleeding and i cannot type.  thank u for listening.

More Trip Around the World Process

I am pleased..just love these colors...