Sister's Choice Quilts

Happy Birthday Mary Ann

Oh dear, how did your birthday sneak up on me?  I am late with your gift and feel awful!  It is going in the mail today, and I hope you will like it.  A little table topper in your beachy oceanic colors.  I used a marvelous template called The Crumbler, designed by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company to make the blocks.  I love the colors too!  I hope it works out on your kitchen table and will enhance many a meal you and Ahren share.  When it comes time to wash it, just toss it in the washing machine with regular detergent, and it should come out just fine.

There will be something a bit more personal in the mailing envelope as well.  Enjoy!

Wish I could be there to celebrate your special day!  Lots of love coming your way from California.

Let It Begin

The last of the boutique items are sewn, embellished, and ready to be delivered to the shop.  I think these Zippy bags may be the cutest yet.  I used some Cinnamon Stars fabric I had on hand to make them up, and am so pleased with the results.  And that little button is the most adorable thing ever!

So, are you all ready to start your engines for a whirlwind Holiday Season?  I got up at six, well, maybe six thirty, and hopped in the shower.  Popped Ozzie in the car for a short ride to Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha (for me, not him).  I am now home, doing a short blog post, and then my day will really get going.  I have cranberry relish, two pies, and home made yeast rolls to make today.  And that darn house cleaning that I keep talking about doing.   Eva is coming, so it should be interesting to see how all these plans actually take effect.  We will go see Grandpa at some point, make his lunch and visit a bit.  He is very excited about Thanksgiving.  I think it is his favorite holiday, due to the whole pie thing.  Oh, and my student is coming to sew this afternoon.

Am I being a bit unrealistic to think I can squeeze in all this cooking and cleaning?  Guess I better get into my Wonder Woman suit!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

Travelin'

Can you guess what I am up to?  Cutting, that's what.  Got my instructions, my zip lock baggies for my pieces, my iced tea--I am good for a marathon cutting session.

I am cutting out not one, but two kits for gorgeous Civil War quilts.  I am going to be traveling next week to meet up with a dear blogging friend, and take a few classes. 

Sometimes when one orders kits, the fabrics are a disappointment, have you noticed?  Not this time.  I would say I approved of 80% of the fabrics in the first kit, and nearly 100% of the fabrics in the second.  I am fortunate to have a nice stash of Civil War fabrics (mostly acquired the last time I took a quilting related trip to Illinois and Wisconsin), so I was able to easily swap out the fabrics I didn't love with some from my stash.

I have a couple of trips planned for the next few weeks, so my blogging will be sporadic.   In the meanwhile, enjoy this fun picture of my darling Baby E.  She is into absolutely everything lately, and I cannot take my eyes off of her for a second.  Today, while I was auditioning outfits for my first trip, she climbed into the bathtub and proceded to play with her bath toys.  The fact that she was completely clothed and that there was no water in the tub didn't phase her in the slightest.  The tub was a play pen of sorts, so I just left her in it while I puttered around in my dressing room!

This was her trick last week.  She opened the big drawer at the bottom of my tv console and climbed into it to read a book.

Have I mentioned recently how much I love her?

A Lot Of Nothing Going On

Nothing major going on around here.  Or maybe I am wrong and a lot of something is actually happening.

I was Good Cop in my talk with Grandpa.  Everyone else has been reading the poor man the riot act after his falls last week.  I emphasized how he was incredibly lucky that he had not been injured in his two falls, where paramedics had to be called twice to get him up off the floor and back into his wheel chair.  I told him that I thought that perhaps his quota of luck may have just been used up and that he absolutely could not afford to take any more risks with his health.   He is so happy in his little cottage and enjoys his contact with his family so much--if he breaks a hip, God forbid, he could go into a hospital and never come out.  He promised not to try to stand up out of his wheel chair again, until his doctor gives him the go-ahead.  I am actually hoping when he sees the doctor today, he will be told to give up the wheel chair and move up to a walker.  I think the walker will provide more stability than the prone to roll wheel chair.

I fixed up his porch all pretty, and he has been enjoying the bird activity, especially the hummingbirds.  They are crazy up here in the Sierra Foothills.  My gosh, I created Hummingbird Wars, right on Grandpa's porch, just by hanging a feeder!  You should see those little devils, dive bombing each other when one comes too close to the feeder.  Can't they share?  The ones in MY yard know how to share.

I wanted to machine quilt my patriotic themed Doc Schnibble (in the photo at the top of my post) this weekend, but ended up having to work.  I definitely will make it a priority this week!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Winding Ways

Winding Ways is really coming along.  I think I will make 14 more blocks so the quilt will be 7 x 7 blocks square.  Most of the blocks turned out really great.  Some are a little poochy in the center where all the seams come together, but those pooches pretty much press out, and once quilted, nobody will be the wiser.  The blocks are 8 1/2 inches square.  Someone asked me the block size and I replied that they were 10 1/2 inches, which was way off!  I used the Marti Michell Winding Ways template, which actually does come in a choice of sizes.  The largest is 11" as I recall.

One of my readers told me the circular pattern makes them dizzy, and I kind of feel that way too.  Whoa Nellie, is the room spinning?  This quilt was made entirely from scraps in my stash, which makes me very happy.  A free, and guiltless quilt!  I don't think I will put a border on this.  There is enough action going on in the center of the quilt in my opinion.  If any of you want to talk me out of this idea, please have at it.  Has anyone seen a Winding Ways quilt with a border?  What did you think?  Did it add something special or is the quilt enough on its own?

This is the view off my back deck as I write this post on Thursday night.  I stood out there trying to catch a shot of lightening, but didn't have the patience to wait.  Ozzie has been barking his head off at the thunder.  Thunderstorms are a rarity in California, did you know that?  We hardly ever get thunder and lightening.  Rain yes, the lights and sound effects no. 

Grandpa Larry had his surgery Thursday and the report from the doctor was good.  When they got in there to place the pins and the plate, the break wasn't so awful as they thought at first.  He got through the surgery very well, and now has a long recovery ahead of him. 

I am going to take some of your suggestions and plant some flowers on his front and back porches and take pictures of his cottage to bring to him in the hospital.  Along with all of your cards!  You are just the dearest women on the planet to take the time and make the effort to send your good wishes to a sweet 90 year old man you don't know.  He is an absolute doll, a Navy veteran, a fine grandfather, and an accomplished man (he has a PhD in Microbiology!).  He is lonely now, and has never been so on his own like this, and your kind thoughts will mean the world to him.  And to me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

*Note:  Robin Kirk--I tried to email you, but your email wasn't included in your comment.  Try again and I will be happy to send you an address to mail your card.  Thanks!

Update

Hi there.  I seem to be off my posting schedule this week, due to family circumstances.  Grandpa is doing ok.  He is in the hospital, but they still have not been able to do his surgery because his blood levels aren't quite right yet.  With any luck, the surgery will take place today.  My husband says the nursing staff is taking good care of him and his spirits are pretty good. 

My spirits are not so good--as one reader commented--just as we seemed to be moving forward, to have this sort of a set back is just such bad luck.

Our little family is all Grandpa has.  My husband is an only child and all of Grandpa's brothers have passed away.  His wife of nearly 70 years of marriage died in September.  If anyone would be interested in sending Grandpa a card, let me know and I will provide a mailing address.  I know a show of get well cards would really mean a lot to him!

I'm stuck up here at home, 130 miles from all the activity, so I am not much help.  This week my daughter's in laws are taking care of Baby E, so I don't even have her as a distraction.  No worries, I am holing up in my sewing studio, listening to the rain pound down outside.  I'll make a big pot of corn chowder (complete with bacon for a garnish) and comfort myself with hot soup tonight. 

The progress on the Winding Ways blocks is coming along, but I have to say I have been quite distracted by the idea of finishing up my languishing BOMs as part of Sinta's Pink Pincushion BOM Rehab program!  The picture below is of six filler blocks for the Simply Sophisticated BOM of a few years ago.  The next block I plan to complete is a darling basket block, and I do love basket blocks!

If you are interested in joining this motivating group, put the button on your sidebar and send Sinta pictures of what you are completing.

 

Bad Luck

Well, this is a major bummer.  It turns out Grandpa broke his leg.

Saturday was the big day to get him moved into a little cottage near us, and when he was getting out of the moving truck, he stepped down kind of hard on his right leg, due to it being a big step down.  And he fractured his leg!  He didn't even fall down.  I tell you old people's bones are like egg shells.

Immediately, he said he was unable to walk.   After much debate standing out in the front of our house--should we call the paramedics?  Was it just a strain?  Had he torn a ligament?  I ran in and got one of my dining room chairs, which Grandpa sat down in, right there in the front yard, claiming he would just sit out there all night because he couldn't walk.  Somehow my husband and I got him into our house (with the help of my sewing chair, which has wheels!).  He said his leg hurt, but didn't seem in real pain, so we put an ice pack on his leg and gave him ibuprofen.  He just would not try to walk.  My husband and I got him into bed for the night but none of us got much sleep.  Sunday was Easter and even though we tried to talk him into going to Urgent Care, he didn't want to due to it being a holiday.  The swelling was down and the pain was better, but he still said he couldn't walk. 

So, first thing Monday morning, we put him in the car (don't ask how that went), and drove him to his doctor.  After xrays, the doctor announced that Grandpa had fractured his femur.  What a shock that was!  I have heard of that happening to other people.  One family I knew had a kid fall at the playground, and went for a couple of days at home with a broken bone that no one diagnosed.  I always thought that would be impossible to not know!  But there you are, it happened to us.

So, he is having surgery on the leg today, which involes putting a pin or a plate or something in, and then will be in a skilled nursing center for six to eight weeks.

He never even got to set foot into his new house!  I told him this was a desperate attempt to get out of doing all the unpacking.

Mixed Bag

My Easter weekend surely was a mixed bag.  On the one hand, we had glorious weather.  On the other, everything that could go wrong seemed to do that.

This was supposed to be the big weekend to move Grandpa into a little cottage on the nearby golf course.  He got through the day just fine, but when he was getting out of the truck at the final destination, he did something to his knee and has not been able to walk since.  Today we will get him to the doctor for xrays to see what he did to himself.  This is a disaster because I cannot lift him and my husband works out of town during the week.  I have a feeling Grandpa  may be going into a rehab center until he can walk again.  What a shame!  He hasn't even set foot into his new house!  I was there for awhile yesterday afternoon, directing the movers on where to place furniture and I know he will love the place once he gets into it.  His windows and back porch look out onto the golf course where one can watch both herds of deer and golfers enjoying themselves.

What little sewing I did took place during Eva's naps on Friday.

I am pretty happy with these Winding Ways blocks!  It takes me about 20 minutes to construct one.  Just look at the secondary circular pattern.  That is just so cool!

Here is something else I am planning on joining in on.  Sinta over at Pink Pincushion is hosting a BOM Rehab group.  Do I ever need that!  The idea is that the participants pick one of their BOMs that is sitting around gathering dust and make one block per week, and post about it on Mondays.  I have several BOMs to choose from (hangs head in shame).  In fact, have I ever finished a BOM?  "Why, I can't recall", she says, not making eye contact. 

Which one to choose?

Why yes, how about that one?

My Mom, the Lamp Genius

My mom was some kind of lamp genius.  She could make a lamp out of anything, I kid you not.  The lamp above was from a tea canister she picked up somewhere.  She made many a lamp in her day, and as they say, they broke the mold when she passed away.  Mom was unique in so many ways--a true character.  Full of life, very creative, full of opinions, generous to a fault, often feisty, loyal to her family without reservation.  I miss her so much.  If Shirleyann loved you, you had an advocate who would fight 'til her last breath for you. 

Mom's been gone for an unthinkable eight years.  How could our family have continued to live and breathe and eat and see the dawn of another day without her light in it?  Somehow we have managed to go on without our matriarch.  Eight years.  My gosh, how can that be?  I dream of her often, quite vividly.  She appears in my dreams, sometimes she speaks, usually she doesn't.   She is merely present.  For the first few years after she died, in my dreams, she would have left us for another family that she loved as much, or more than she did us.  Otherwise, why would she leave?  I know, how crazy.  I would be so angry with her in my dreams.  It was quite awful when I woke up.  I would want to rail and cry, "Mom!  Why did you leave us?  How could you?"  Over time, my dreams have changed, and I welcome her into them with delight.  She is there, she contributes, she continues to support.  I wake up now, and think "Thank you for visiting me Mom.  I miss you and it is so nice to spend a little time with you, even in my dreams".

In my most recent dream, she visited all my sisters and I.  We were all sitting in front of a roaring fireplace, with the sound of the ocean in the background.  All of us were wearing Eileen West white nightgowns, including Mom.  We sat by the fire, glasses of wine in hand and got all caught up on each others news.  Just like old times.  When I awoke, I was sad to say good bye to her, and to yet again realize that this would be another day without her in the future of my life on earth.  Yet, I had to admit, she is with me all time, in the beautiful faces and characters of my dear sisters, daughter, and nieces.  Mom lives on in all of us, and in my memories and my dreams.

I meant this to be a post on lamps, forgive me.  Sometimes we just need to let digressions happen.

 

 

Waiting

Any day now....

We are waiting...

And waiting...

And waiting.

Go check out Sara's blog for a long awaited update and pictures of the nursery!