Home

I came home yesterday, Thursday, so that is the great news.  My pain is controlled by Tylenol, so that is also a good thing.  My youngest daughter is still here with her boys, 1 & 3, trying to pack up most of my dad's home to take back to Oklahoma with her for her new house.  It is nice to know that another couple of generations will be enjoying the furniture and furnishings.  I'll be missing a few things - like the dining room table I have been sewing on, but it is one step closer to me going home.  My oldest daughter ran out of time to get all her stuff out of here so she is planning on coming here for Christmas to pick up the remainder of the pictures and mementos she wants.

I'm exhausted and can't really help with packing because bending hurts.  I have 5 different incisions across my stomach, from side to side.  It is quite swollen, but I hope it will go down soon.

Crazy Times

Five months after he died, we are finally having a small memorial service for my dad this Thursday.  All three of my daughters (plus one son-in-law and one girlfriend to help with the three and one year old) and my four grandchildren are here this week (along with 4 dogs - 2 Rottweilers,  1 Chihuahua and one service dog for the friend) and my quiet life has disappeared!!  I'm enjoying spending time with them all and appreciate that they drove to Nevada from Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma.  They are currently going through everything in the house, deciding what they would like to keep and what I'll have to deal with when they are all gone.  That is the hardest part about having kids that don't live close!!  However, they do give me great places to go to visit (especially when I got to spend 6 weeks with my Army daughter in Hawaii).  I'll be getting to keep my daughter's Chihuahua for the next year as she is being deployed in October and Sita gets along well with my Chihuahua Tara.

Next Tuesday, August 25, I will be having surgery to remove the last foot or so of my colon.  I'll be in the hospital 3-5 days...I'm hoping for 3 because my youngest daughter has to start back home the following Friday and I'd like her to be here to stay at the house and take care of my dogs, as well as bringing me home from the hospital.  She'll be taking most of the furniture because she has a new house in Oklahoma.  I'm so glad I don't have to get rid of everything and that someone who loved my parents wants to surround themselves with the same furniture they enjoyed.  Of course, it will be weird to come home to a house with little furniture, but it will make getting the house ready to sell much easier.

My computer died, so I had to get a new one and I can't get the pictures off my phone onto my computer...I really hate needing to get a new computer because I have to figure things out that stump me!!  So a post with no pictures...sorry!!

The Blender

After being a posting queen, there has definitely been silence for months.  What a wild ride those months have been.

My beloved father died on March 18.  This is a picture of us out celebrating his 95th birthday.  This was his last year of freedom, from needing oxygen 24/7.  I'm so glad that he was all there mentally until the day he died.  His body just gave out a few months before he reached his 99th birthday.

My ex-sister-in-law passed away on April 16.  It was a total shock as she had a heart attack.  Not even my kids knew their aunt wasn't doing well.  She was always a lovely woman and her family really misses her.

My favorite cousin died on May 20.  He had a stroke just before Thanksgiving last year and even with immediate medical care and therapies, he never made any progress back to the person he was before the stroke.

Also in May, I ended up in the hospital and was diagnosed with diverticulitis.  The pain was right up there (9), and ever since then it has been a struggle to eat enough so I stop losing weight.  This week I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy to see the extent of the diverticulitis and why I can't really eat.  Well, I now need surgery to remove part of my colon because the diverticulitis is severe and the doctors are concerned about ulceration and bleeding.  I don't want to end up with a colostomy, so I hope the doctor can actually put the two ends together to make me "whole" again.  I'm concerned because the surgery will probably take place when I'm here alone.  But I know God has it all figured out and the plans I need to make will be revealed in time.

That's the reason for the silence on my end.  I have been feeling a bit like a pinball, slamming from one life-changing event to another, just focusing on getting through each day (sometimes hour) whole.

Next month we'll have a small memorial service with all my girls - they can finally travel (they are all "essential"), so I am looking forward to not being alone and getting to see them and my grandchildren.  The isolation demanded by COVID has definitely made dealing with death and illness so very different.

Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh

All good things must come to an end and it is the same with the Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh blog hop, hosted by Joan of MooseStash Quilting.  Thank you so much, Joan, for bringing us something to smile about during these difficult times.

The blogs making us smile and laugh today are:

Songbird Designs

Bumbleberry Stitches

Quilting Gail

Just Because Quilts

Patchwork Breeze

MooseStash Quilting

I hope you have enjoyed this blog hop as much as I have enjoyed hopping around the blogs and making my little wall hanging for it.

Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh

Today is my day to share what I made for the Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh blog hop, hosted by the marvelous Joan of MooseStash Quilting!!  Thank you for the invitation, Joan!!  I had a blast!!

Have you seen those cool quilts made by using the collage technique?  You know, where pieces of fabric are cut up and put back together to create a recognizable animal or scene?  Most of what I have seen has been animals, sometimes very realistic and other times quite fanciful.  I thought they looked so cool and I wanted to give it a try...this blog hop gave me the push to give it a go!!

I started with this piece of gorgeous fabric

I just love this!!  The colors are stunning and there is metallic gold shining through!!!  YUM!!!

Now, what to make with this???  My "grand pets" are weighted heavily towards dogs (I have 11 grandpups), 3 rabbits, a hamster, random chickens and 1 cat.  I have spent a bit of time with this cat as he belongs to my daughter who is in the Army.  I got to house/pet sit this stunning male specimen (along with his dog sister) for 8 months in Florida way back in 2011.  Guinness, the cat, welcomed me to the home by urinating on my bed the very first night.  Thank goodness for a thick down comforter and thick down mattress pad, my mattress didn't get wet, but my daughter got to take my comforter and mattress pad to the dry cleaners!!  With that kind of welcome, who wouldn't love this guy!!

 After his mom left for her tour of duty, we did become friends and he loved to help me with my piecing.  During the months I was in Florida, I pieced about 50 quilts and wall hangings, met some wonderful quilting buddies (SewWhat!?!? bee group), and found out that I quite enjoyed Florida in August, with the high temperatures, high humidity and rain that pours down most afternoons!  Totally qwazy, right???  For a girl who was raised in the high mountain desert where we get 4-7 inches of precipitation a year, that is certifiable qwazy!!

I made Celebrating Guinness in honor of my one and only grandkitty.

Yes, he does do what he wants, especially when it comes to expressing his displeasure or bringing his ball for you to throw so he can fetch it!

All fused and I tried to quilt over every piece because I know that fusible isn't forever.

We got 4 inches of snow a few weeks ago, so I ran out to take a glam shot in the snow!!

After carefully cutting out all the gorgeous pieces from my strip of fabric and placing them in such a way to look like a cat, I used the extra cut-out stuff as a pretty on the side, which, of course, Guinness had to tear a piece off of...he's a cat and that's what cats do...what they want!!

This shows the heart at the center of Guinness...he does love his mama!!  I know I missed some of the smaller pieces fused on, but since this is a wall hanging, I hope it will never be washed.  I made the corner triangles so my daughter can slip a small dowel in them for hanging on the wall.  

Sharing my day on the blog hop are these fabulous blogs:

One Quilting Circle

Quilt Schmilt

Devoted Quilter

Turning My Heart Quilts

Home Sewn By Us

Farm Quilting

If you have the urge to try making a collage quilt, give it a shot.  I had so much fun creating Guinness in fabric that looks nothing like the coal-black cat he is!!  You don't have to make it as whimsical as I made Guinness, you can create a totally realistic collage quilt.  They are gorgeous too!  I love fusible applique, but I do know that if a piece with fusible is going to be washed and loved to death, it does need to have every piece nailed down with thread, either by hand or machine.  Hand sewing through the fusible is difficult - I did that on the first applique quilt I made.

This is a public service tutorial for making your own reusable toilet wipes.  If your supply closet doesn't look like this:

You can take a fat quarter (or fat quarter-sized rag) and make your own, but it is reusable!!  Fold your fat quarter in half 3 times until you end up with a rectangle that measures about 8.5" by 5".  This is thick enough yet still flexible.

Then all you need to do is sew the 3 open sides

Use a different color for every member of the family, keep a "diaper pail" with a lid by each toilet and have bleach water in the "pail"...that pail does require a lid!!  Flannel is a good choice, old t-shirts, and even micro-fiber cloths.  But if you don't have any of those available, you can dig in your stash of fabric and keep your families nether regions clean!!  

Or you can sew those charm squares together using a basting stitch and create this reusable TP:

I hope you have as much fun hopping amid the qwazy blogs for these five days as I did creating my Celebrating Guinness!!  Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!

Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh

Here we are at day three of the Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh, hosted by the lovely Joan of MooseStash Quilting!  Have you been enjoying all the qwaziness the bloggers are spreading around?  I know I have been having a blast hopping to all the blogs and seeing what the quilters have been creating!!

The blogs bringing you the laughs today are:

If These Threads Could Talk

Kathleen McMusing

Samelia's Mom

Seams to be Sew

QuiltFabrication

Ms P Designs USA

Keep leaving those sweet comments for all the bloggers...we love them!!  Be sure to come back on Monday because I'll be showing off what I made, using a new-to-me technique that I fell in love with!!

Change and Finding Your Way Back to You

Many of you know I have been spending the last 4 years caring for my father, states away from my husband and home.  Yesterday my dad was reunited in heaven with my mother and brother.  I now have so much I need to do, but I can't get in touch with the attorney or CPA I was depending on to help me through this.  It is overwhelming and I am so exhausted.  I don't know where to start, really.  I dealt with the mortuary and wrote the obituary for the paper today.  This is a time when being an only child is difficult, especially with my husband and children scattered between Washington and Georgia.

Life has changed and now I need to figure out how to find my way back to being me.

This picture was taken on his 94th birthday when we went out to dinner with friends.  He would have been 99 in June.  I love you, daddy, and I miss you so much.  

 

Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh

Did you enjoy hopping around the blogs yesterday and seeing what qwaziness has been going on??  What was your favorite yesterday??  Didn't Joan at Moosestash Quilting arrange a great lineup of blogs to participate in all the qwasiness??

Today the blogs participating are:

 Just Let Me Quilt

Beaquilter

Patchouli Moon Studio

Selina Quilts

Scrapdash

Den syende himmel

Karen's Korner

Hop on over and be sure to leave each of the bloggers a sweet comment on their project.  You know how much nice comments mean to you!!

My day in Monday, so hop on!!!

Quilt Qwazy Queens Making Us Laugh

This is the first day of the QQQ Making Us Laugh!  With all the problems and disruptions to our lives caused by the COVID-19, this is the perfect time to do a little hopping and see what your fellow quilters have created to make us laugh, or at least smile!

These blogs are sharing their talents with us today, March 18:

Life in the Scrapatch

The Darling Dogwood

Words and Stitches

Webster Quilt

Bejeweledquilts by Barb

Creatin in the Sticks

Podunk Pretties

Check out all the great projects the bloggers have been madly sewing the last month or so, and smile!  Thank you, Joan of MooseStash Quilting for arranging this blog hop.  My day is Monday, so I'll see you then!!

Project QUILTING 11.6 Vibrant and Vivacious

This is the final challenge of  Season 11!!  I'll admit, I look forward to these challenges every other week.  The have been so much fun and have pushed me out of my comfort zone and I've found how much fun it is to get out of self-imposed box!  Thank you so much to Kim of Persimmon Dreams for running the show, getting so many cool prizes and encouraging us all to stretch ourselves in ways I, for one, would never have thought of!!

Vibrant and Vivacious is definitely something we all could use in our lives right now as COVID-19 sweeps across the globe!  So, with that in mind, this is what I came up with:

I just couldn't resist!!  I found a pattern at Craft Passion and since I couldn't print it out, I used her measurements to create my own pattern.

I used a bit of my fusible fleece which gives an extra layer of protection, since I don't have any sort of filter.

I had to put some psychedelic lips on my mask and added a frog and a monkey for a bit more whimsy.   I did a blanket stitch with my machine around the lips and frog...the monkey just got straight stitching close to the edge as his arm and tail were a bit thin.

I did an X of quilting so the lining didn't bag and get funky.

I used stretched out ponytail holders for the stretchies that go around my ears.  I use these pony tail holders just about every day as my hair is at my waist and I want it out of my way!  I'm so glad I saved them and found a use for them!!

I used scraps for everything, except the gorgeous lime green fabric.  Do you think this is Vibrant and Vivacious?  I'm loving the lips and the lime green!!!

Thank you again, Kim!!  I have had a blast with this since December!!!  When does Season 12 start???

Monthly Color Challenge March 2020

Thank you to Jen at Patterns by Jen for the monthly color and block challenge!  This month's color was my favorite color (to not use), orange!

The bird inspiration is the oriole, which is a beautiful bird.  In the last 4 months, I have been using so much orange...is someone trying to get me to like it??

I used a couple of fat quarters I was given by my Shoebox Swap partner (thank you!!) or I would not have had any orange to use.

I received

I like the hand of this fabric, but I didn't like this:

Every piece of this beautiful fabric was stained by the tape they used to create the rolls in the box.  I'll still use the fabric, but I'll be cutting around the 3" by 1/2" stains.  I did contact the maker and they said I should return it to the fabric shop I bought it from.  Since it was a gift from out of state, that won't work.  I can't say their response won't color my purchases in the future.

Here is my March block, along with January and February blocks (I love how they look together):

Thanks again, Jen!!!

Project QUILTING 11.5 Give It Away

I got my project finished - I made a Tummy Time quilt for one of my daughter's friends who recently had a baby.

Hunter is inspecting it and making sure I did everything right.  Well, the tummy time quilt was just fine, but because I don't want the extra weight, I don't use batting in these quilts.  Well, that doesn't fit the parameters of the challenge...I have to use batting, so...

Email to the rescue!!!  I received an email from Bernina's We All Sew with a pattern for tortilla warmers!!  This cute little warmer uses Wrap and Zap batting (the kind you can put in the microwave), mostly batik fabrics, and all in my daughters' favorite colors!!

I didn't exactly follow the directions for making this...I chose to sew all my layers together and pull them right side out so I didn't need to make binding for the top half.

Batting on the bottom, then the black fabric and teal on top.

Press the "inside" fabric over the batting and then press the outside fabric seam allowance on top of that.

I pinned them closed while they were hot and let them cool because I know "hot forgets, cold remembers" and sewed them about 1/8" from the edge all the way around.  I then picked a pretty stitch I had never used on my machine to quilt an X to hold the layers together.

I now know why the directions used binding all around all the edges...it is really hard to cut a good circle using my regular rotary cutter - my wonderful circle rotary cutter is at home in Washington - and my edges don't all match up real pretty.  So I picked the two sides that match the best for the top, open part of the tortilla warmer and used bias binding to hide the messiest parts!!

Hunter had to check them out as well.  I used another decorative stitch to stitch the binding down.

Since my middle daughter's husband cooks authentic Mexican food and they don't fry those tortillas crispy, they will use these often!

I am linking up with Kim at Persimmon Dreams with my finish!

March 2020 Color Challenge

Today Jen announced the March 2020 Color Challenge on her blog Patterns By Jen.  March is celebrating

Orioles!!!

We have a month to make a single block, so go on over to Jen's blog and get the pattern for this month's block!!

Project QUILTING 11.5 Announced Today

Kim of Persimmon Quilts posted the challenge for the week for


Don't we, as quilters, have a great deal of experience in making and giving away the fruits of our labor and hearts??  I know what I'm going to make...a tummy time quilt for a friend of my daughter who just had a baby girl.  I don't think I have ever met her in person, but I am friends with her on Facbook.  I hope she will be pleased and use the quilt for her baby for many years!!

March, In Like a Lion!

I woke up this morning to 4" of snow and the little flakes keep falling!  Since March came in like a lion, the saying goes, it will go out like a lamb!!  We'll see, but I sure hope so!!

We went outside and now she is waiting for breakfast!!

I don't think she knows the chaise lounge is for lying in the sun!  She's having a blast in the snow!!

How did March come in where you are??

Organizing Mat Under Sewing Machine and a New Family Member

When I posted my Project QUILTING finish this month - sewing machine cover - Denise asked about the mat I had under my sewing machine.  I made this mat several years ago, but I'll happily tell you how I made it.  My mat measures about 20" by 20".  If you choose to make yourself one, you can make it any size you want to fit your machine.

The first thing I did was quilt my fabrics with a single layer of batting.  I did free-hand feathers and just had fun.

The back is orange (here I am pairing orange with teal way back then!).

After quilting, I made binding to go across the top of the quilter's plastic (probably bought at JoAnn's) and around the outside of the mat.

When putting the binding on the plastic, either use binder clips or if you use pins, keep the pin holes inside the binding.

After putting the binding on the piece of plastic - 5" by 20" (or the width of your mat), I put the plastic pocket on the mat, held with binding clips, and sewed pockets up through the binding on the edge of the plastic.  I used the tools I wanted to store in the pockets to determine the size of each pocket.  You really don't want the pocket to be deeper than 5" because it will hit your legs when you are sewing.

After creating the pockets, I put the binding around the mat - using clips again anywhere there was plastic.  I also sewed a length of ribbon on the top center of the back of the mat so I could roll up and secure the items in the pockets when I wanted to take my mat and tools to retreat or a sewing day.

I rescued a German Shepherd and this was the first day at home, learning that the Chihuahua is the alpha of the four-legged family members!!  In less than 24 hours, Hunter no longer needed to be on a leash when Tara was outside with her.  Hunter is currently an outside dog as she is in heat.  As soon as that is over, I'll be having her spayed so she can join the family in the house.  I can figure out a diaper for my daughter's Chihuahua (amazing how well half a sock, rolled up and held in place with a onesie works), but Hunter is just too big for that to work!!  Hunter has now been with us a week and has come out of her shell.  She is happy being a beta and I'm working with her on learning commands to sit, stay, down.  I've never heard her bark.