Busy times for little ones...

School has started, so we had our last camping trip for the summer,,,which is always sad, for the kids, AND for Granny and Papa.

We have to wait for the weekends to take them, and if they have sports or cheerleading, we don't get the extended time with them.






But on days when Jakey has to go in for his chemo, Mom and Dad bring him into the city the night before, so he can get his spinal tap early in the mornings. (The staff has requested a minimum of people in the clinic, because of the H1N1 virus.) So that means Granny and Papa get the delightful company of Elizabeth and Jonny, (who really is a little angel.) He is the best 2-year-old I've ever known. And I've known quite a few. Today is Jakey's first day of pre-school, and he was just a little nervous last night. He just had his treatments on Friday, and he is pumped full of chemo, steroids, and antibiotics, which magnifies any stresses in his little body. He was a little excited this morning, so we have Jonny today, just in case Mommy had to stay at the school for a few hours.

With the kids in school, I have been putzing with my scrappy "Jacks in Six" (thank you, Finn, for telling me the name of this block!) I now have enough to make a queen size quilt, so I'll be stitching them together soon.

I did get my Friendship Bag Swap package out to "Anne" last week, (ssshhh! its a secret, so don't tell her) and I think she will be getting it in the next few days...I hope she likes it! I hopped over to her blog, and she does a lot of crochet and knitting, and in one of the pictures, she had her yarn in a plastic store bag. That gave me the idea to make her a bag that would hold 3 or 4 skeins of yarn. The ones in the tutorial were tiny, but I'm sure the "bag police" would not arrest me for giving a larger bag...???...

I know I'm early on this swap, but I never know when I'll get a minute or two to play with Bessie (my machine) so that is done and I can start on Christmas gifts,,,,EEK,,,did I say the "C" word? It is looming up fast here, and I have a lot to do. time flies! the older I get, the faster it goes!

Hope all your 2-year-olds are angelic!

lyn

I've given up...

...on pinwheels, I love the movement they give a scrappy old quilt, but couldn't make up my mind on what to do with them,,,

So, I took all of my 240+ "leaders and enders" and ironed themand sorted them so I would not repeat the same HST in a block, I was very careful!and I squared them up, and I squared them up....And, yes, then I squared them up....and put them together,,,,and I STILL got two of the same HST in one block (probably many blocks) ok, I happen to have a nifty little "unsewing tool" for just such an occasion. Guess what I'll be doing this evening?

Does anybody know the name of this block? I have seen it, but I never knew the name. You all know I'm pattern-impared, so I cannot follow by all the beautiful patterns out there, (maybe that should be my next goal) I have to "see" it, then I can figure out in my head how to make them. It's a pain, but I can live with it. I could not find my way out of my own kitchen with either a pattern or a recipe,,,I sew and cook by feel.

Last week, we had the girls, and we are acostomed to finding little notes around the house that say "We Love you" and sweet little girl sayings...But I was intrigued when I saw this one on the buffet, to: world

from: Liberty

"I bleavan fairy's"

so, I'm spreading the word,,,now all the world knows, Lib,

Hope all your fairy's are as precious as this one!

lyn

Bundles of Love for Iraq

I have just heard about the most wonderful gift. A soldier in Iraq is ending his tour of duty in October, and the blessed man would like to give back to the people of Iraq.



After reading the book, 3 Cups of Tea, he has come up with the idea

to give the women whose lives have been turned upside down, bundles of love. He said they use and re-use everything there, every thread, every square inch of fabric, every scrap of yarn! The ultimate recycle circle. So, I have thrown in my hat, I know I have stash, needles, and yarn galore to share, do you? The quilting community has given me soooo much in the way of friendship, so I am happy to give a little back. You can help, too, if you'd like, You can read the post about it here at his wife's page...kristinlaflamme.com. He really is Mr. Incredible. There are links to the "411" pages at the bottom of her post...

I'm off to the post office in the morning to get my box and send it off. The flat rate boxes cost $11.95 to send, doesn't matter how much it weighs. Too bad we don't have a place for this in the US, like Every Women's Place, or homeless shelters...any body know of a place here we send a bundle of love?

Hope all your bundles are full of love,

lyn

Have you ever?

Have you ever just played with fabric, just because you loved the fabric?
Sara, the quiltingbookworm, sent some fabrics with her PIF and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! So, I putzed for a while and thought I would make a practice bag because, in a moment of weakness, I joined the Friendship Bag Swap. (the link is on the right column) and I have no idea what to make.

My Mr. Wonderful makes the best little model, doesn't he? He was out in the garden, and found our first tomato!! Hip Hip Hooray!!! Let the feeding frenzy begin!

Rachel has a great tutorial on her blog, friendship-bag-tutorial., but it seemed too small, so I amended the measurements and ended up with this little sweetie. I love it! (thanks Sara, for the four patches!)

I think I might do some little stitcherie and start there?

What fun! how do you make up your mind?

Hope all your tomatoes are ripe!

lyn

Just a little stitching

I have not been completely lazy, I have sewn a few things, this little quilt was for a fund raiser that my SIL Kathy was puting together. A family in upper New York lost 3 daughters in a car accident, so I sent a quilt and a lot of prayers. I took the girls to a little quilt show just north of me last weekend, and they were so impressed! They oohh-ed and aahh-ed all over the quilts. They voted for their favorites and had such a hard time making up their minds.

But, boy the minute we got home, they wanted to do crafts right away, they were so inspired! I didn't want to get the sewing machine going because we had Jonathan, who is two, and is more interested in pushing buttons than sewing the fabric, So, we crocheted,,,and we crocheted!

Until it became too quiet! I looked in the toy room, no baby, I looked in the family room, no baby,,,I was getting nervous! the girls found him in the living room....Jonathan had almost fallen asleep in the corner with Cubbie. Thank Goodness for Cubbie, she is a better babysitter than Granny is!

This week, the girls are still stitching, one way or another, so I've made up my mind that we are going to every quilt show we can, just to keep them interested and maybe,,,just maybe,,,they will someday be so moved, they might finish a project!!???!!!

The weather has been cool here, lately, which I love! high 60's to mid 70's. But today was back to normal, and got up to 80. Humid. Sticky. My tomatoes love it!

Hope all your babies have loving dogs to cuddle with!

lyn

What a nice homecoming!!!

Mr. Wonderful and I just got home from Virginia, we had a lovely time with family, full of fun, love, and a few giggles. As we were pulling into our drive, we both mentioned how nice the trip was, and how nice it was to come home. Our neighbor took care of the dog-dogs and picked up the mail every day...and just look what I came home to.

Sara, also known as the quiltingbookworm a PIF that I jumped in on, and she has sooo many wonderful things in this package!! I LOVE the bookbag she made, and she even threw in some blocks,,,I just might have to make another bag to match!! The little pin cushion is so adorable!! I'm going to have to hide it from Jakey, he is always wanting pillows for his little animals...tee hee

She also made this candle mat,,,and it matches my family room perfectly!! How did you know, Sara???

Inside the book bag was a book, "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards (I would like to put a link in here, but I'm link-impaired) and just a few weeks ago, I almost bought that book at Barnes and Noble, but thought I should wait till the paper back came out...Now I have it!! And I just finished my last book last night, so I'll have to start on this one tonite.

Thank you, you little bookworm, what a gem!!

But, now I have to get 3 joiners so I can Pay It Forward to them...Any takers??

Hope all your pin cushions are accounted for.

lyn

Tea parties on the Deck...

...are the most fun when you have little girls in dresses, wearing Granny's high heels, and party hats, Our summer is going so fast, I cannot believe July is half gone already!!

We have cooked out, we have had kids on skates, bikes, boats, and parades, we have done all the beaches, and we have ***giggled.***

And in between all that, I even managed to put a few stitches in a quilt or two. This is one I putzed at for about a month, it started out to be just a project, I had scraps and have always wanted to do a Double Irish Chain, so I slooowwwlllyyy worked on this one.

We have had so much company this summer, that it took over a month to finish it, but I love it now that it is done. the scrappy look is so appealing to me.

And I wonder if finn recognises any of her scraps? She knows I love scraps!!!

And, how do you like my $1.00 headboard? When I bought it at a yard sale, it was broken, and some of the finials were missing, Mr. Wonderful about had a hissy fit!!!! This thing was UGLY!!! But I saw the potential, so I took two legs off a broken stool for the missing finials, cut some one by fours to replace the legs, and slapped some black paint on the whole mess. I love it, but Mr. Wonderful is mortified when I tell everybody that it only cost $1.00...I'm so proud of my thriftiness, and he is sooooo proud of my efforts, but God forbid that I tell anybody how cheap I am!! tee hee...so don't tell anybody, okay? It will be just our secret.

Hope all your finials are glued on tight!!!

lyn

Whattya Know?

She remembers how to blog...Shall I apologize for being gone so long or shall I just slip in here like I've been here the whole time? Actually, I have been lurking here and there, and loving every body's posts. Now I've worked up the gumption to be a big girl and blog myself!

Besides, I am so proud to show off these pictures...

Elizabeth is sewing....and she is doing such a good job of it, too! She is only 6 years old, and she is a whiz at the machine, her and Bessie have become best of friends! Just look at those lines, and the form, and the curved seam allowances give it soooooo much character...don't you think?? :-) I have not put one stitch in these blocks! (ok, I did the cutting of the strips, but she selected the scraps, and the yellows, she stitched, and she designed)

(When I started taking pictures, she HAD to stop...run into the bedroom....and get her Hanna Montana slippers to show off,,,,too cute!!)

And the absolute BEST part of all this is...50 years from now, she will be (hopefully) sitting at her machine, telling her grand babies about making her first quilt with HER granny...brings tears to my eyes!

Thanks to you all for hanging in there with me! and for giving me HOURS of entertainment with your blogs...

Hope all of you remember how to strip! tee hee

lyn

Virtual Spring Quilt Festival!!!

I have been busy for the last two days...busy being totally engrossed in the First Virtual Quit Festival over at http://parkcitygirl.blogspot.com/. She has come up with such a wonderful idea.

So, the whole time I'm devouring all of the other entrant's quilts, I have been thinking of my own quilts,,,can you pick a favorite? Is it like babies, you love each one different, and the same? This squirmy little bundle is my very first attempt at quilting. My son and his wife was expecting a pink little baby girl, and so I pulled out one of my great-grandmother's aprons, one of my grandmother's tablecloths, and ran over to my mother's to grab one of her blouses.

I used an old blanket of my Grampa's for the batting, and one of my other grandma's curtains for the backing...it turned out to be the most comfy little thing in the world, and Elizabeth still thinks of it as her "best blanket."

What more could a granny ask for?

Not only did it pass some of our family "feelings" down to this baby, but it also made me leap into a new world of quilting. Each one of my quilts tell a story, but this one has history....sigh....feels so comfy!!

now, your job is to jump over to Park City Girl's blog and let us know about your favorite quilt! Be prepared to spend HOURS there!!

hope all your quilts are squirmy!!

lyn

Moving forward

We have had the pleasure of our little Jakey here the last week, his sister has a rotten cold, and Jakey;s counts are not good enough to fight off a cold,,,We have read so many books, and colored so many pictures of Lightning McQueen that our eyes are blurry.

We have three birthday grandies this week alone,

So we partied all weekend! the kids were so fun,

We are planing a benefit to help the kids with the extra costs of Jacob's care, ie: travel, work loss, costs to stay in Grand Rapids, etc. So, my Aunt Biggie made a quilt to raffle off, this is a rotten picture of it, but the quilt is awesome,,,hand quilted, machine pieced.

oddly enough, she did not know that this pattern was called "Jacob's Ladder" funny how things happen. ??

Hope all your grandies are giggling!

lyn