My Mojo’s back

I know I told you I was going to post the last of the Christmas shops I went to over the holidays, but at this point, I doubt if anyone is really too interested in Christmas. So….I’ll make sure and do it in the fall when it will be more exciting.

I’m loving my nest and all the organizing I’ve done. It’s so nice to be able to finally find things and know exactly where to go to get the next project to work on.

Here’s what I’ve been doing for the past few months.

I finally got this project quilted. The pattern is “Glory Bound” from Bonnie Blue Quilts.

I bought a “blanket crane” online from Small Town Primitives and hung it on the wall going up (or down) the stairs.

I also got “Summertime” quilted. It was a block of the week from Primitive Gatherings a few summers ago.

Another one that finally got quited is my “Wool Garden” from Waltzing with Bears. You might remember this quilt from my wool tutorial which you can access on the sidebar.

During the holidays, Country Loft posted pictures on their blog of their Christmas open house. While scrutinizing the pictures with a magnifying glass, LOL, I saw this kit available. I quickly called the shop and JoAnn Mullaly, the designer, answered the phone. It was so fun to talk to her. I just love her primitive style.

I think I’ll make it up into a pillow.

A finish

Now that the house has sold, I can mess up my sewing room again.   I always thought I wanted a nice and tidy room but I now know that I work better in chaos.    

I hadn’t realized that it had been over a year since I last worked on my Wool Garden block of the month.  And…I only had one more block to go.   So, I got busy this week and finally finished it. 

My friend, Nadine, had changed the border and I really liked what she did, so I borrowed her template for the scallops and now it’s done!   

It sure feels good to get back on track!

Tisket a Tasket - October

Wow, I can’t believe it’s time for another block!  I don’t know where the time has gone.  Well…yes I do and I’ll tell you about it after I show you this darling block.   So fun to do in wool too.   By now, you know the drill about heading over to Anne’s blog to get the pattern.  Only 2 more blocks left to go! 

  I think we’re going to look for sashing fabric while we’re at Market, right Anne?

So, on to the reason for my absence.   I won’t go into ALL the details but first want to thank you all who have emailed me to ask about my Mom or to tell me that I’ve been missed.   I really appreciate you all.  Bloggers are just the best!

As you know from a previous post, my Mom got “cellulitis” in her legs and was admitted to the hospital.   While there, she developed a blood clot in her thigh.   She was then treated for that but began getting very weak.   (You need to know that she is 89 years young, and prior to the cellulitis, she played golf 3 times/wk, line dancing 2 times/wk, tai chi, daily walks and….get this…20 minutes on the Nordic Track.   Lived alone in her own house and still drove everywhere.  Now she can’t even get herself up from a sitting position and has to walk with a walker.)

Anyway, after 2 weeks in the hospital, and then 2-1/2 weeks in a skilled nursing facility, she was able to come home but needed 24 hour care.   I provided that for a week until she had to be readmitted because of anemia and loss of blood.  Where was all her blood going?   That was the $64,000 question.    After doing an Upper GI, 2 CatScans, an MRI and Xrays, they still don’t have a definitive answer.  

An oncologist was called in and suspects that she may have “blood cancer”.   Not really sure what that is…and they say they won’t really know until it manifests itself.   If anyone out there knows anything about this…let me know.  

We had arranged 24 hour care for her in her home right before the last admission.  I was supposed to be going to Emma’s 3rd B’day celebration in Seattle, but thought I better stay in Sacto.   My Mom and brother both insisted that I go to Seattle and after much prodding from both of them, I went ahead and left her in the care of her Drs and my brother, telling them that I could hop right back on a plane and come back if needed.   She stayed in the hospital another week and then came home and, for now, has a caregiver she really likes.   

I have to say that if any of you are caregivers or know someone who is, you have my utmost admiration and respect.   It is an incredibly hard job and so very stressful.   Kudos to you!

Now, on to the party.  Emma turned 3 and she wanted a “pinkalicious” party in the park.   She got her wish.  Here she is, swinging at her pinana… Yep, that’s what she calls it.  

We gave her a pink laptop and some fun dress-up clothes and shoes.

 

She wasn’t feeling very well on her b’day.  She’d had a nasty cold and fever AND….decided to share it with…ME!   Isn’t she sweet?   I’m sure I was ripe for any bug to invade my body!   I think it was the worst cold I’ve ever had.   We came home last Monday and I literally didn’t get out of bed until Thursday!   I’m on the mend now and really looking forward to going to Quilt Market with Anne on Wednesday.    After we get back from that, I’ll be heading back to Sacramento to my Mom’s. 

While I was at my Mom’s, I worked on lots of new projects for Anne. (She’s got some wonderful new patterns debuting at Market). What a godsend that was.   I took my sewing machine and supplies and Anne provided me with all the materials.  I didn’t have to make any decisions…I just sewed for her.   It was such therapy, I can’t even begin to tell you.    I would sew when my Mom was sleeping and it would help ease my tensions. 

I did get to work on 2 blocks of my Wool Garden too.

 

Look…we’re almost done!   Thanks Karen for your wonderful choices of cottons n wool!  And, by the way, I can’t wait to see you at Market!

So, that’s about it for me.  If you’ve stuck with me thru this whole post (a really long one for me), thank you.    It’s been a trying time, to say the least but we’ll all get through it.

I can’t end this without showing you a picture of the cutest little guy you’ve ever seen.   I call him “Mr. Happy”.   Our little guy, Mason, is now 4 months old!  He just makes me smile.

Being a Grammy is just the best!

Wool Garden Block 9

I can’t believe I’m keeping up with this one and have actually gotten each month finished before the next one arrives.  Hooray for me!   Can’t say the same about my Jan Patek Girl Gang, but that’s on my list for next week.  Yikes, now that I’ve said it….I better get movin!   Karen, are you caught up?  ROFL

This isn’t the right position for those last two blocks on the bottom, but it made for a better picture.  

For the past 2 weekends, we’ve been going on the Central Oregon Builder’s Association Home Tour.   I’ve taken tons of pictures but not sure what to post.   Just the kitchens?  The fronts of the houses?  Bathrooms?   Hmmm, what would you like to see?    I don’t want to post so many that you get bored, so let me know.   We’re going to 2 more today.  One that is listed at over $3 million.    Wow, buying that one would take me having to get rid of a lot of fat packs!   LOL  

Wool Garden #7 and a win

I just finished Block #7 in the nick of time.   I have a feeling that Block #8 will be here in the next few days.  Whew, that was close.   

It’s lookin good!  Head on over to Farmhouse Woolens to see what Karen has new to offer.   Then check out her blog to see her new house.   It’s spectacular.  I’m green with envy!

A few weeks ago I won a giveaway on Deb’s blog and look what I got!   Wow, I’m gonna be smelling really good!  Some fun things for hubby too!

How fun… Thanks Deb.  

Sunday is reveal time for the next Tisket a Tasket block.   Come on back to see it!

Wool Garden

Block 7 arrived last week and since my machine was in the shop, it was a great time to get handwork done and stay caught up on this block of the month. This is such a great quilt project and Karen has done a wonderful job picking out the cotton backgrounds and the gorgeous wool for it.

She's going to be offering 2 new Block of the Month programs, so you might want to head on over to her store, Farm House Woolens, and see what she's got coming. Bookmark her site because she's in the process of moving into her fabulous new house (which you can read all about on her blog) and won't be back online until May 15th.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Block 6 and a birthday

I'm still staying current on my BOM's. This is block 6 of Wool Garden.And all of them put together so far.

On another note, last week was my birthday and when Brenda and Nadine asked me where I wanted to go for lunch, I surprised both of them when I said I wanted to go to Pilot Butte Drive-In.

It's been voted "best burger joint" every year since the "best of" has been around but in the 7 years since we've been here, I've never been. So, that's where I wanted to go. And...it lived up to it's reputation.

Sorry I didn't get a picture of our lunches. I think I was so overwhelmed by the size and HEIGHT of the burgers that I completely forgot. Hmmm, maybe I'll have to go again just to get some pictures! Gotta take care of my bloggy friends. Oh, and yummy fries too.

Pilot Butte State Park is that mountain/hill behind the drive-in. The view from the top is spectacular. It offers a 360 degree, unobstructed view and "on a clear day you can see for forever".

Hubby and I went up there today to get some pictures for you but the skies were a bit overcast so there wasn't much contrast between the snowcapped mountains and the sky.

The above picture is Mt Bachelor which is a great ski area.

Here's a panorama of some of our mountains. Next time we have a crystal clear day, I'll go up and take some better pictures. (click on the picture to see it better).

Now on to the best part! :-). Giftys!

Brenda gave me these wonderful rolls of wool that she got at The Buggy Barn on her last trip up that way. They are luscious and I just love them.

Nadine made me this tote out of Kansas Troubles fabric (my favorite). It's her own design and I think she mentioned that she's going to have it available as a pattern soon. Right Nadine?

And look what she did on the inside pocket. So, don't anyone think they can "steal" it from me. LOL

The real shockeroo was getting this fabulous wool framed project from Karen. I didn't even know she knew when my b'day was. I think Brenda and Nadine may have had something to do with that! The fact that she's in the process of building and moving into a new house, with NO extra time on her hands, made it a very special gift.

I also got lots of phone calls and cards from all my family and friends. So, I just want to say "Thanks" to all of you! It makes getting older just a tad bit easier.

Lucky Me and some progress

I won another giveaway! Wow, I'm not usually this lucky. Janet at Idaho Quilter was having a giveaway and I've heard so much about the magazine, "Artful Blogging", from my friend, Anne, that I knew I had to enter! I was thrilled when Janet emailed me to tell me I'd won. I understand that I will want to read it from cover to cover so I got my drink of choice and plan to plant myself in a comfy chair and not get up until I'm finished! Thanks Janet.

In other news I've been busy working on bumper pads and a bedskirt for my new baby grandboy (that doesn't even sound right. lol). Wow, I never realized how much work goes into bumper pads. Let's just say....if there's another baby after this....he/she will use these again!

Here they are in the crib we have here at our house.
That's the bedskirt draped over the railings. It's just a flat box pleated skirt. I'll get another picture of it when it's in it's home in Seattle.

Finally got caught up on Block 4 of "Jan Patek's Girl Gang".

And finished Block 5 too. If anyone out there is working on this and hasn't done Block 5 yet, make a note that there was an error in the cutting instructions of the log cabin background. It should be cut 12 1/2" x 10 1/2".

It feels good to know that finishing Block 5 of "Wool Garden" gets me caught up on that one too.

Here is what it's looking like so far. I'm really liking it!

I also wanted to send out a special thanks to Jodi and Sharon who mentioned my Fat Quarter bundles sale on their blogs. Thanks for your support girls. And thanks to all of you who helped me start de-cluttering. Bloggers are just the best!

Hey, where's spring?

We've been having some really nice weather lately but this morning woke up to this!

Maybe we need to take this down!

On the quilty front. Here's block 4 of Wool Garden by Waltzing with Bears.

And all 4 of them so far. I'm liking the way this is looking.

I prepped Block #7 of "Reminiscence" by the Rabbit Factory, so it's all ready to be stitched down when I have some time.

Got another block stitched of "Winter Wonderland" by Crabapple Hill. I decided to do these blocks in order from largest to smallest. I'm glad I did it that way because even though I love it, it's ALOT of redwork. I tend to get bored quickly with this one. I'm plugging along though and at least the largest blocks are finished.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions about what to watch next while I'm on the treadmill. I just started Season 1 of "24", and I think I'll watch "John Adams" when I'm finished with "24". By then the weather should be nice enough to start walking outside again. You all gave me some great ideas and I've written them all down to check out.