The Very Special Visit

My girl came in from Europe to visit for a few weeks..my heart beats!!  Can u believe that she took apart my pantry....She said..."Motherrr!!!" and she painted it and put the shelving back..

I feel so loved.

Emily has only been home a few days...it just takes that for me to feel spoiled...Tonight, tortellini soup and my favorite of all favorites....pretzel bread.

I did not want to retire two weeks ago.  Life made me do it.
  Tonight I decided to make the best of it.
 Just opened up those doors from my sewing room into my office and added quilting things.
Now my girl and I are sewing.  I want her to stay forever and ever.

Guess who has to be part of it too??  Zoe!

The Smashed Tomato

Life made me do it!  Life made me start a blue log cabin. 

My mother wrote this poem a few years back, she was only 89 at the time.....My dear Mother knows stuff.......

I found this poem when I was going thru my recipes!!  Ha!!  My state of mind....

The Halloween debriefing

The goblins are all gone home for the night.  I relaxed by making a hostess gift for the party tomorrow night:)

Happy Halloween

 At 96, Margaret is still the star of our quilting group!!!

 I can see that it all runs in the family...

The relatives..being hung out to dry for the holiday.

Sunday Smiles

Finished the Halloween bags for the kids.. Thank you Jean for the white glow in the dark fabric and the idea.

 Collecting fabric is a GREAT!!!  idea:)  This mauve vintage I have had for at least 25 years and it is perfect for the binding on my Liberty Love...quilt.

 Our Irish princess at the Ceili!!!  hugs

Every end has a new beginning

The remnants of my Red and White Silly String are starting something new... 

There were lots of laughs and creativity at the Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild Meeting tonight.  I just love that group.

Thinking about backings

So crabby tonight until I got with the sewing.  I basted the Liberty quilt the modern way...spray basted it on the porch.  It was a pain to do, but a breeze to quilt.  About backings...look at the cool voile I found on The Intrepid Thread.   Jennifer at Ellison Lane had a site coupon just when I needed it.

  I had fun today adding my Irish Quilt to The Other Side of the Quilt  which is a   Linky party about backings... This party is all about showcasing the back of the quilt.  Fun..always!!  We like fun.

Mind Diverted

From bits of treasure and orphan blocks came the 10 donation potholders... all finished today.

Friday's stuff

Joy today as Mr.O'Quilts sat in the garage at his wood turning station making seam rippers for his dearly beloved wife:)  Lucky me!

 The center where I do my water classes is always looking for donations, etc.  For the fall bazaar, I usually make 10 potholders.  They sell them for $6 each which is a $60 donation.  I think that that is great as I am a potholder queen....there being nothing more relaxing than making a funky potholder

The one below comes from a cut up jacket I got at Stein Mart years ago.  The star is leftover fusible hand dye from a Laura Wasilowski workshop.

 Always working on improving my cool and awesome new sewing room, I found these clear clip on pots from Michael's clearance section for 99 cents.  I love them because they are clear.  However, the sticky adhesive when removing the label, was just awful...Tipnut had some tips..ha....I used both peanut butter on one and mayonnaise on another.  So far mayonnaise is the winner...not perfect..but good enough to get it off. 

Doing a little experimentation in my sewing room.  Do not tell anyone:) 

Then there was this highlight of my day...It was ..

unbelievable that I could  just get this pix from my girl.  She is working on her quilt in her apt in Cork, Ireland and sent this to me by her phone...Can u believe it???

Breathe, Sew, Breathe...etc

Finished cuddle from the Guild free UFO table...gotta love finishing someone else's work.

 Finished 104 holiday tissue holders for give-a-ways to say thank you.  (counted by grandson)

 Making do is always better.  Fall has put the sage bush into bloom.  My mother's bird vase shows it off.

 Both things make me happy.

The other day, I was sitting under a tree reading a quilting book, relaxing. 

 Down came a caterpillar into my shirt and bit me.  Still reeling here, with itchy, hivey, welts, as my body screams NO to caterpillar bites and the Benedryl puts me to sleep.  

Note to self,why worry???  Out of the blue stuff comes...believe me, I never worried about this either.

Liberty

Yesterday I saw my last scheduled client after 35 years of helping families help themselves.  My last client gave me these.

At the end of the year Himself will close the business.  Retirement.....I am choosing to call this liberty.

 Tonight I finished the last of the blocks for my Liberty quilt.  Liberty lawn of London meets Batiks and American cottons.  I am so pleased with this look.  I think it is timeless.

  Um...peace loving, fair minded  me is just missing something here....hmmm   Dynasty Duck.  I do not think so...JoAnn's fabrics...What R U thinking?????  Maybe I just need help understanding.........

Making the connection

Eighteen friends at my house today making the new wheelchair ramp, making food, celebrating friendship

 Getting it together with Liberty lawn.

 Breakfast at Golden Corral....Just never planning to grow up!!

Liberty of London meets the St. Louis sixteen patch

 Hi Cousin Ann....check out the international deal.   Liberty of London meets the St. Louis sixteen patch!!!!  Love it.

Dylan wants to know where you are Cousin Ann...Zoe misses you too!!

I think Cousin Ann is sewing away on her new sewing machine...you go girl!  Miss you.

Bargains from the Guild Member Sale

A favorite night of the year, bargains from the member sale..
 Fat quarters for one $..  Love it Elizabeth.... 

 Fat quarters for half a $..  Love it even more Karen...

 Package from the outreach store...way less than one $ each.  Sigh with happiness!

 Just sharing.

More love..lucky, lucky me..

My birthday is in December.  I think my friends were confused, because at Guild the other night I received presents galore....love presents, support presents, laughing presents.   Starting with Beth who bestowed on me what I thought was the grim reaper, cuz that is where my mind is lately.  Instead it is the grim ripper!!!  Is that not hilarious!!!!  Is Beth not very kind and clever to have made this for me.  Tonight...I am slow...we had a great laugh..Thank you Beth.

 Then came Kathy...who made a beautiful holder for my Diet Coke...Ok, so I ran out of Diet Coke....loving this Kathy. Thank you...

 Karen gave me a book on organization for my newly renovated sewing room...Thank you Karen. 

 And Drenna...who said that this fabric reminded her of me.   I am speechless Drenna....cannot imagine what you were thinking..lol

 Charlotte, my cat loving friend...so wonderful

 And the love of another generation of fabric lovers.

I am blessed.   xxoo to all my dear friends.  Thank you.  You make me happy when skies are blue.

Nostalgia diverted

The impromtu quilt gets finished!!  I did a fun and wacky free motion that took an hour.  I love it.

  But, then.....My sister said that my grandmother's beloved vintage hippos were not my grandmother's at all, but hers!!!  Whatever!

  She said that when she was 15, she rode the Greyhound bus from Phoenix to New Mexico to visit her girl friend...She and her friend, already fabric lovers,  poured over the Sear's catalog where she ordered the yellow hippos...Good Lord.  

Well, since my sister is 55, that makes the hippos 40 years old instead of 50 years old.  They must have mixed in with Grandma's fabric since she always lived with us.. And, my sister does not even love them.  Sigh...

 At quilting the other night, my sister!!! Yup, the same one... decided that I could not give a sick child in the hospital a quilt with an unpleasant...whatever...backing.  She put away my choice and took out my cool and awesome Anna Marie Horner print that I was hoarding...I mean saving.  She ironed it and put it out for the quilt...Poor me....Now I love the quilt and do not even want to give it away.  Guess I will keep it for a month or two and then share...

 Poor Zoe!