Spanning the Years

Aoife does not like eating sweet potatoes from a spoon, when she could snuggle up to her mother and nurse.....Six  months old....Poor Aoife  seeing life as it really is.

Organization under my cutting mat...a miracle...only possible because of those weeks Linda spent with me on the Covid free porch arranging sizes of fabric scraps.. Wahooo

In looking around, I found WIP (work in progress) from the very first quilt class I ever took.

1974  Miami, Florida, given by Georgia Bonsteel... Quilt as You Go.

My fabric choices were not the best quality, I did not quite get the technique, and the applique was all done by hand.  I worked on this quilt forever.  Because it was in pieces, I was able to take it on airplane trips with me.  47 years ago...a serious UFO (unfinished object)  The funniest thing about the project is that the colorway is right in style now!!!  Off it goes to my daughter.  Hopefully she can make sense of some of it.

With all the stress...yup!!!  Stress around here!  There is not much sewing.

I took to looking at a few U-tube videos...

These folks brighten my day and lift my heart:

 Mary Fons

Karen Brown Just Get it Done Quilts

Thanks to the saint, Mary Pat, I was able to go online and secure a spot for my Covid Vaccine. March 7 and March 28 ...I would like it today, but...grateful I have the appt at at all..

Another dear kind heart, gave us a gift certificate to Honey Baked Ham for Christmas. We are using that today. yum! Smells like the holidays.

A third kind heart gave me a gift certificate to Missouri Star.  Talk about lifting the blues into rainbow.. I am one lucky person.  I have had fun for days on that site, just looking..

Since we, in Charlotte, NC are being asked to  re-think going to the grocery store.  Last night Lynsey and I used Amazon Prime Fresh.. Arriving tonight between 7 and 9...free.  If I had wanted it earlier, it would have been a $5 delivery fee..

The beauty of a wonderful stash is that the perfect backing just appears.

The color does not look right in this picture, but, it is...

Lucky me....The library had a book by one of my favorite authors.

Already I am half-way through...sigh...I love her books because there is still a part of my heart that stayed in Miami.

The latest restrictions have narrowed our library hours.

Please God, let us have peace in 2021

The Zombie Apocalypse, and More

Look at what came in the mail yesterday!!  Linda Swanekamp's hand painted Christmas tree card.

I am one lucky duck..A big Thank You Linda!!!

Sixteen patch top is finished...a quick one with lots of fun playing with value.

It kind of reminds me of the sea and living in Miami,

This quilt is more low key than I usually make.

Grateful that I have a fabric collection of  years.

Under supervision of Emily, Rosie and Aoife share a teether..

In less than two weeks, this little missy will be 6 months old

Here she is awaiting her sweet potato--smooshed into breast milk

The story:  This "living room" used to be my office for my business.

When ALS came barreling into our lives, I had to  close my business and make this room into a hospital room, hospital bed and all.  Once my man died. I hated this room,  To make it more bearable,, it became sewing room number 2.  A few years later, my son found recovery and moved it.  He wanted to sleep in this room on the sofa.  Ok...We divided the room for him.  Now, Dylan does his homework in this part of the room....Dylan asked for LED lights for Christmas.

While I was napping......Dylan and his daddy got to work.

 This is just a small part of the show, he and his dad put up....Speechless!!!

The other night I slept so hard and so long, that at 12:30, the family came in to see if I was still alive..

Immediately it all began.  Lynsey opened my blind too hard and it crashed to the floor.

The theatrical one then had to demonstrate my fall the other night...OMG  She even found the Lego to show her father exactly how it happened. She was hysterical.

I had not even risen from my comfy bed yet...when the drama  started.

I have so turned into my mother.  She worked at the OSI at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.  It was emotionally tough for her...as some of us have been born with a very thin skin.  We would all be waiting for her when she got home...Mother...Mother, we blathered on...  After a quick hug, she announced that she needed respite.

She locked herself into her bedroom with the newspaper and Madam Butterfly opera blaring.  She was in there forever...OK...She set the timer for thirty minutes.....

All of us grew up hating opera.

Here, there is just nowhere to hide in a loud and busy household.

My son and the children, dressed in their Christmas long underwear and gloves, etc took the dog and the picnic, way into the woods to build a fort.  According to Lynsey, they are preparing and practicing for the Zombie Apocalypse.

The sun shines here with Carolina blue skies belying the very cold day. The front driveway is littered with ice prevention pebbles for the snow that never came.

I am indeed grateful for Zombies, as peace is upon this household, just for the minute... 

Installment two...Today is the second day,. the family and dog went to their fort....by the time the Zombies show, the O'Quilts' family will be all set for survival

Tonight, big bad Grandma,  requested that the children fold the family laundry. OMG one would think I had asked them to be tortured....I am punishing them for their snotty retorts by making for dinner , my mother's prize winning meatloaf. They think that they hate meatloaf.

Our family has been in chaos for 7 some years, We choose to be happy.

Life is still good. 

Scrap Frenzy

The truth is that value does the work, but color gets the credit.

Tonight I am calming my soul by messing around with scraps

The ever present, ever fun 16 patch.  The green one below is a scrap from a quilt my girl made for her MIL.  The red and white below is a scrap block with my husband's shirts.

When we first moved to Charlotte, I met Mary Jo and her store.

That woman knew every fabric and where you could get it.

She was dyslexic with a shrewd mind for business and a great memory for fabric.

I was in love...well worth the drive to Gastonia for any fabric you could possibly want.

We would be chatting, she would grab my hand and say lets pray.  It was for me, 15 years of glory.

 Mary Jo got dementia. She died...the store struggled and closed. 

 The store was the woman!!  And the woman was the store.

 My friends and I discovered Foust in Kings Mountain.  For a few years they  had huge scrap bins...I mean huge.  I would take my blue grabber, and grab those scraps way into the middle of the bins.

 It was soooo much fun.

We would go as a group and out to eat after...!

I found a bag of those scraps today.  Decided to cut the white ones into 4 inch strips for a 16 patch.

Do they go together???  Does it matter...if the value is on target?

(the green flower below is from a dress at Goodwill)

Tonight I am scrapping ..

Last night at 4 am, I fell...flat on my face.

Why??? I stepped on a Lego on the way to get the cat off my roll of wool batting.

Stitch loves to eat plastic.  

Where did the Lego come from???  Who knows...I do not live alone.

As it happened Lynsey...Sally my salamander had crept into my bed.

She was up in a second to help her grandmother up.

I broke nothing because I am quite the substantial woman...just sore today.

The children had been put to bed last night at 9:30 because there is remote schooling.

At midnight, they were still messing around, really messing around. Then they wanted to sleep with an adult...OMG.  There are consequences. 

This morning, I laid them out.

I hate to make salad...so I told Lynsey to make salad for me ....She got carried away and made both a tossed salad and a mozzarella and tomato salad.  (hardly a punishment for the cook) Dylan had to wash some walls....You do not want to see a picture of that!!

Once a week I get company...fabric lover's company.  We sit with heaters and masks and scarves and long underwear on my screened in porch.  This week we organized and folded my Batiks..

I am sure  you can recognize my friend!!!!

And so it goes...2021 Frenzy here and frenzy there....

We will survive..

We might even flourish!!

Some Things are Pretty Nice

Lynsey, Stitch and Grandma playing Canasta for New Years!!

Aoife, 5 months, trying out her high chair.

Her mommy sad she is growing so fast...slow down life...slow down!!

Even at her advanced age, Grandma suffers from fabric hoarding.

I finished this scrap quilt top tonight.  I found the perfect backing but I could not use it, because I love it.  Dear me, I used the second choice...sigh...

It is for outreach. Improv is my favorite way to sew.

Tonight I discovered a good friend sick with Covid..two weeks already.

She still is exhausted and struggles to eat.  She said it is the worst disease she has ever had.

OMG...I am postponing my January cataract surgery.  Maybe April will be OK

I am tempted to buy fabric on the Hancock of Paducah holiday sale, the fabric is in the cart, I just did not  push buy.....It is better that way...as I look at it, it is not as fun as it was with impulsivity.

Tomorrow quarter three school pick up starts....I wonder what happened to quarter one and quarter  two.

In person school is supposed to start January 19. 2021.  Stay tuned. Our Covid numbers are hitting the sky.

A lovely purple bat scrap from a friend in Oregon!!

Love. just love....

Maybe I will read before bed.  It is only midnight.

The quote to live by, from Wanda

"Enter every day with a feeling of newness and expectation.

Exit every night with thanks for all you have."

Thank you Wanda...right on....!!

Don't Worry, Bob Marley 

Happy New Year....Please, God Willing....xo

Happy New Year

This is the first year I have ever spent alone with my son on New Year's Eve

It is very special and wonderful.  I have such gratitude!!

We also did our first selfie on the porch after he threw out a few fireworks.

There is fog and rain in Charlotte now,  Look how lovely the lights look.

Oregon has stellar wineries... In the mail, for my birthday came champagne for New Year's.

Talk about special, toasting the New Year with a gift from my daughter in Galway crystal This was a surprise from my man back in the day on his return from visiting his homeland.

Today has been a great day....all day...pinching myself to be sure..!!

I sewed.  Using up some scraps.from 3 projects ago...Square in a square.

With motivation from friends....I organized.

I know...I, me...Grandma O'Quilts...organizational impaired.

Organized!!!  Making parts for the "parts department" !!  Thank you Gwen and Freddie!!!!

Last week, Lynsey finished part one of her autobiography...

She sent it to three of her teachers for editing, Aunt Emily did the cover, Lynsey wrote her feelings all herself.  She was elated and felt empowered afterwards. All I did was let her use my computer in my sewing room.!! I am so proud of her.  Aunt Charmaine made copies...First Lynsey wants to be a teacher, then a baker, then a writer, now an actress!! 

For Lynsey, her booklet was an exercise in accepting herself and her history as it is.

She is rightfully very proud of herself.

A New Year post is not a post without Aoife...Aoife and her guard dog, Rosie!!!

It is now almost one am...2021.  Thank God!!

I feel relieved, elated.  I  know life is still hard. Somehow, I feel there just may be hope this year.

Having hope is an outstanding feeling... xo

!

 

The Sewist Sews...

 Evidently the word "sewist" was coined to include the many men who are sewing now.

Good morning Grandma's girl!!

In the mail today came a delightful package from my creative daughter.:

For her mother, she made a tea advent calendar 

It is adorable.  Perfect to keep me going.  It will start on New Years Eve.

And I will sip one cup a day...probably share it with Lynsey.

The basket of joy!!! (much better than laundry)

Two grumpy friends sat on the porch...6 feet apart wearing masks

They were so cheered by fondling fabric that soon, they laughed and talked.

.  I took a wide sweep of my messy sewing tables, 

dumping it all in the basket.

 We organized a bit of my mess into labeled bags.

A person always thinks that they have seen all the fabric in the world...

.Until one goes through another quilter's stash!!!!

The Crabby Mc Nasties...all gone with fabric therapy.

Grumpy turns to glee all thanks to a fabric friend.

Well this little four patch experiment needs quite a bit of tweaking.

That, of course is the fun of it.!!

To get the balance I want, probably means two corners snowballed, rather than just one.

Never lonely in the sewing room.

Tonight, Stitch is hanging in the solids....

Two days until 2021.

I will monitor my hope.......!!!!!

I really should go to bed...But, I stay in bed till about noon, and stay up till 2 am.

My routine has been screwy for years...about 5, at least..

Thanks to Peter for for the reminder here:

Morning Has Broken

Good Stuff

Aoife's hat arranged by her daddy. It curiously looks like a bowl cozy??? 

Lynsey made an apron for her mother for Christmas. She was sooo proud.

She took one of my old aprons and traced it.

Yesterday was so relaxing.  I sat in my messy messy sewing room and read a novel by Katherine Center.

There are only two left to read.

I did most of my exercises outside in 35 degrees with sun.

I felt like I just might have a few more good years left and that most people do not die of degenerative arthritis.

Today, not so good.  I heard that out of our 4 big hospitals in Charlotte, the one closest to me has zero ICU beds....Not that I am planning on a car accident or heart attack...Evidently, my neurosis is exploding. Our lives are so upside down.

Cutting 10 inch squares from plaids....relaxing...

Funnest of all fun...is working with scraps..

I thought I might do some one cornered snowballing to put in character.

I used scraps from Lynsey's apron sewing.

Yesterday, I was so Covid Crazy...OMG...

.My son went to store for milk, bringing home both milk and flowers to cheer his mother.....love..

Aoife goes hiking...Oregon is great for that.!!

Life didn't turn out the way it's supposed to.

That is true for everybody.

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness"

--Desmond Tutu

Merrrry Chrisssstmas and Yesterday's News

Aoife says, "Merry Christmas"  from Portland. xo

We say Merry Christmas from Charlotte!

 The other day, I posted a picture of my darlings 7 years ago when they first came to live with me.This is their picture today.  Added is their 2 year old sister Ava...3 days after her 4th brain surgery.

That girl is a fighter..

 When I think of my own grandmother making Christmas cookies..

I will never measure up.  She made 10 kinds of cookies and hid them all in her bedroom closet

When she went off to Bingo, we would all sneak in there and help ourselves...

I made one kind and am exhausted...sigh.

The Swedish ginger cookies from World Market are exactly the same as what Grandma made.

However...World Market is absolutely packed with folks who, evidently do not think Covid is real.

I am speechless. (Then!!!!  Then!! Here came Margaret with a tin for my porch.  Such an angel that Margaret is!!!!)

Christmas Eve..There was my sister, all masked up at the door with a surprise lasagna.

I did not realize that I had missed her so much, till I felt tears in my eyes.

Lasagna is heating up now..The children are spending a week with their mother.

Lynsey received a phone for Christmas.  I just got a text from her.."Grandma, What is for dinner???"

Dear me...She was upset that we were going to eat her aunt's lasagna without her...Ha ha...

My favorite Christmas present 2020, makes it all worthwhile.

A big surprise that had been under the tree for a month.

Lynsey was coming out of her skin with excitement as I  opened it.

She had done exactly what she had watched her granddaddy do.

She wrapped the potholder she had made in one fabric, then another, then another..all

fabric she liked from my stash.  By the time I found the present we were all laughing with joy and Christmas fun.  She showed me how she chose the potholder fabric...TV for when I watch the news, cupcakes for my voracious sweet tooth, striped fabric for my eccentricity, and there is even a fabric that is suppose to represent, common sense.  It wins the 2020 present prize.

Memories from my own childhood, last minute sewing on Christmas Eve.

I remember a college prom, where the boy was at the house and I was still in my bedroom finishing my dress.

Dylan made his dad a jar opener with chip fabric and drawer liner.

A Covid Christmas cheer with Sugar Plum juice from Trader Joe's

It came with a warning, "May cause sugar plum fairies to dance in your head"!!

Sew Merry Christmas.  Christmas is still Christmas even if we are confused.

Our dimpled 2020 baby....5 months..xox

Peace and Goodwill to All

The Teacher With a Big Heart

Sharing the large piece of hand- dye I got a few years ago from Andy.

I think it is perfect for the back of my Delectable Mountains quilt.

This year has been so hard.  Remote learning has been hard...Well, I do not need to tell all of you.

HARD!!

Then this from Dylan's teacher to the parents of her class.

Shared with us, her view and her love for what she does.

Our family loves this teacher.  She gave me permission to share it with all of you.

Dear Parents

Well, we made it!!  We survived the first semester of Remote/Hybrid Learning!!

I have decided to focus on the positive aspects of our semester together...so here goes:

1.  Your child is a gift.  There is no other gift that can top your child-truly a priceless gift for you and for me.

 2.  Your child learned so much more than academics...how to use technology as a tool for meeting, how to create an atmosphere of learning from home, how to join a virtual community. 

3.  Your child perseveres...showing up daily for Zoom and sticking with it, turning in work through a computer (not easy), staying engaged through lessons and work times.

4.  Your child shows grace...patient with me as I navigate the tech world, patience with a classmate who is not on a meeting right away, patience in waiting for feedback and grades.

5.  Your child shows compassion...helping others (including the teacher) figure out how to use technology with a gentle voice.

6.  Your child still laughs, still smiles and still brings joy to me every morning at 8:15

So here's what we can take away from all this...your child has grown in ways that test scores cannot measure.  These kids are ahead...they have learned to make the best of a difficult situation and that is the best learning of all.  This group has learned so much more that any of us can even imagine...

Please enjoy this time off with your child.  Enjoy all they have to offer.

Thank you so much foe your tremendous support this year and all of the wonderful gifts I have received in the past few weeks!!!

Have a great break and see you in 2021.

Kristin Reich, Fifth Grade Teacher, Olde Providence Elementary School

 

 Because of this, I go to bed tonight with a smile on my face.

Lynsey making 3 kinds of cookies with her Dad.  I can hear her bossing him around from my sewing room.  Dylan making jar openers on my sewing machine.

xoxo