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

My Family has Tragedies

Last year, my grandson, Jacob, was diagnosed with Leukemia. He has had very large doses of chemo, and since he is a male, he will have to have the treatments for over three years. I'm not sure why I haven't blogged about it before, it was so raw that I was not settled in my own mind enough to talk about it. He is three years old, and the most charming little boy you ever saw. He quickly got to the point where he did not want to go to the clinic for all the procedures, and he would cry, the poor baby...then, one of the nurses had a birthday, and Jakey and his parents brought a treat to share with all the staff at the clinic...he didn't put up a fuss...he was glad to go and to share his treats...so now they take a treat every time, and that precious little child is glad to go have a spinal tap, just so he can give. What a wonderful insight to his personality!

We were just reeling from that news, when my darling daughter passed away in her sleep. The autopsy is not back yet, but I know the cause of death, the Lord needed an angel.

My heart is so full, I'm not sure how to share all my feelings, I miss my little African Star, she was my baby, and always will be. My girlfriend left a comment on the last post telling you all what happened, I just don't have the gumption to write it all.

So, please say prayers for us, Mr. Wonderful did not only lose a daughter, he lost his best friend.

Hope all your heartaches are healing,

lyn

Where the Heck Have I Been?

As you all have seen on the news, Michigan has had bad weather for as long as I can remember. We live on Lake Michigan, and we get what is lovingly called "lake effect snows." We have already had 68.3 inches of snow in the month of December, then we had a thaw and a freeze, then rain...and another freeze. so we had about three inches of solid ice.

Now, anybody with a Mr. Wonderful of their own knows you can't keep a good man down...unless you break his legs. God took care of that during a trip to the mail box. I was sitting in the living room with my daughter and I thought he was in his office. I heard a muffled moan, listened for it again, and finally said to DD, "Do you hear Dad yelling at us?" We found him flat on the driveway, unable to get a foot hold, and twisted, in a weird way, You guessed it, Surgery Room #6C . A normal person would have pain after a surgery like that, but he said he had the worst of the pain before. Still, he has progressed from walker, to crutches, now he is using a cane, and in the morning he walks without anything. (In the mean time, guess who has to do all the menial little chores that a Mr. Wonderful is responsible for??? Guess who can't remember to take something out for dinner??? Guess who forgot how to turn on a crock pot??? that's right, this old fat granny, that's who!!!)

Plus, we have had tricklers for the Holidays, I finally got my Rob and Lucy, I haven't had them for an extended time in a couple years, they came for weddings and funerals, but then Rob had to rush off to get back to work. (He is an air traffic controller) so, I finally got my hands on those little girls, we did everything!! and we giggled while we did it!!!

Angela and Al just left on Sunday, she helped with her Dad, blogger would not let me add any more pictures, so I can't show her off, she is 107 pounds of heart, and the most loving daughter a mom could ask for.

I got all but one of my kids home this year, so that is pretty good odds. People tease me about having a tribe, and if they were all home at once, we'd have to rent a hall to have dinner together...tee hee

I did not get the yellow sunshine done for Finn's UFO challenge, I'm still plucking away at it, one stitch at a time. My first hand stitched bedsize quilt. I will feel like a big kid when I get it all done..... but I did get the Ethnic Star done, and my little ethnic star loved it!!! I'll have to show a picture when blogger feels more generous.

This was the last of the gifts I got completed. Digging around in bins for all my UFO's for the challenge, I found stuff I forgot I had. I"ll save the stories of them for another blog.

Hope all your Mr. Wonderfuls are able to cook for you!!!

lyn

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We are getting an inch an hour in Michigan today, and it's not supposed to stop until Sunday night. Any body want to take bets on a total for two days? We had a visit from Santa already (AKA Mr. Wonderful) did anybody recognise him? Five of our grandchildren were already on his lap this year, and not one of them knew it was Papa!

Then we went home and decorated Christmas cookies...and waited for Papa to "get up from his nap"

We had a wonderful weekend, and now, all the company have gone home and the hugs have went with them. The last of the kids left yesterday, the family room is vacuumed, the bedding is washed, the cookies are all gone, and Granny's house is quiet.

But, the postman continued our Christmas vibe today, and brought the most wonderful package. Norma sent me a new ruler caddy, hand made by her Great White Hunter!!! How did she know I wanted one? needed one? I absolutely LOVE it!! It is extra long, and has five slots!! I"m going to have to go shopping to get more rulers!! hip hip hooray!!

My rulers are all so happy, I think I can hear them giggling in the next room! tee hee, they will nest good tonight, Thank you, Dear Norma!!

I hope you all have happy rulers!

lyn

Gearing up for the Holiday Season

I have been feverishly working on gifts for Christmas, it is a favorite tradition of mine to send out hand made gifts to some of the loved ones who have a place in my heart. Some of my family never read blogs, so I can show a few of the ones I have done. This is for my wonderful DIL, she is a "purry" type and I know she will love the french look to this. Pink is her signature color.

This one has some memories in it, my mother's blouse, and my grandmother's fabric. It is for my nephew's family, they just bought a new home outside of Chicago, so this fits.

This is for a perfect friend, she and I have been best of friends since we were 13,,,and I'm not going to count how many years that is!!

This is a rag rug for my neice, she loves the bags I made, and hinted that she'd love a rug, too. I love the controlled ragginess in this one.


And, another UFO of the yarn brand. I had a few granny suares, so I put them together and kept going, this one is a Linus Project blanket. I am still bogged down with yarn, after 6 of these are done, I have to admit to at least 5 more boxes of yarn...is that a bad thing? or do I get bonus points for using the skeins up? tee hee

As for Mr. Wonderful, he is getting physical therapy on his shoulder, his insulin has been readjusted and they added another fast acting insulin, he has had an MRI on his knee, and will most likely have to have surgery, his back has been getting worse(worse than BEFORE his back surgery!), and they will re-evaluate in January. His stomach is better, with the help of Reglan, his foot problem is something called Charcot Foot, and is caused by his diabetes, and he has an appointment with a foot surgeon for that one. We only have one Dr. appt this week,,,,hip hip hooray!! one more thing to be thankful about! His pains are easing, one by one, and he is, once more, the wonderful husband I love.

I just want all of you to know how thankful I am, to have found a whole world of women to share and laugh and learn with. In these blogs, we spill our hearts, not just our stitches, and you have all been so wonderful!

I am thankful for you!

hope all your hearts are thankful!

lyn

I'm a quilting flunky

I have not done any real-quilting around here, I should get going! I have to get caught up for Christmas,,,, but I have been stitching, the crochet kind of stitches,,,

I have dozens and dozens of skeins and balls of yarn, along with UFO's of the afghan variety, and they are taking up room in my "fabric area." So, I pulled a bunch of them out, put them in piles that kinda matched, and started crocheting again,,, these three are for the Linus Project in our county.

Hopefully, Donna can pick them up and they will be keeping a child warm by Christmas...???

All of the patterns are mindless patterns, no real complicated stitches here, which I find comforting in my old age, the older I get, the less complicated I like my life (and stitching) to be. I don't have to consult a pattern book every five stitches, I don't have to count higher than 10, and I can mix two reds together without feeling like a yarn-idiot. So, I have two reds in the same blanket,,,do you think a six year old will notice?

My wonderful friend, Brenda, was over for dinner last night, and we both agree,---- simple is the new fun---- She has crocheted, but only granny squares, and I tried to tell her how easy these patterns are, once you are done stitching, you're done...no sewing the squares together, the ends are already tucked in, just zip-zap-done. Perfect, Simple, Forgiving, and Old Fashioned....just like me!!!

Hope all your patterns are getting easier!

lyn