Sewing with Susanna Again--Lucky Me!

The above pictures were taken last night at Ann's Cozy Quilts. Susanna and I went to their all-night sew again, for the second and last time. That was the last one they had scheduled. We both hand sewed the whole time (about four hours). Above you can see her using her hand-made template to line up the quilting lines, then in the second picture marking them with a Hera marker (my favorite marking tool for straight lines), then holding up her Not All Thimbleberries, Not Even Charming quilt. The white squares are 3-D, not sewn down. She did such. a. good. job. The reason for the name is because she did not realize one Moda square had slipped in there and that there was a duplicate Thimbleberries fabric!!

I purchased the cutest fabrics for an I Spy for a friend expecting in January. She reads my blog, so the fabrics will have to stay top secret until she sees the finished product. Let me just throw a teaser out there and say that it includes bears and lime green.

I finished all the hand quilting on my Autumn Splendor quilt and got one side of the binding sewn down by hand last night. I truly hope to finish that this weekend. I will put it on our kitchen wall as soon as it's washed and dried. Not too early for pumpkins and other fall decorations. Here it is before I left for the shop. I had to quilt one star, a tiny bit of the checkerboard, and all eight leaves.

~Joan

Quilt Show Pic #9

Black and white are perfect for this optical illusion quilt...I nearly got seasick gazing at it at the show.



Susanna and I are off at 5:30 to sew, sew, sew!! I can barely wait. I have high hopes of completing my Autumn Splendor. I made and sewed on the binding by machine last night (the hanging sleeve, too), so all is left is hand quilting the leaves and sewing the hanging sleeve and binding down. Here's hoping!


One of my challenges (and they are legion) is to stay on top of all my responsibilities. When I get a handle on laundry, meals to go pot. When school is going swimmingly, the house is a disaster zone. You get the picture. I often dream of the free time I would have if we never had to ingest food. No planning, shopping, storing, preparing, serving, eating, cleaning, etc. I did make an inventory sheet of our big freezer this AM, so that is a little step in the right direction.


Count your blessings,

~Joan

Nine Patches and Flood Waters

Here are a couple pictures from a week ago when our basement was nearly flooded. It's hard to get the scale in a picture. We have a ranch with a finished basement. From the front of our house, it's hard to tell we even have a basement. These pictures were taken in the dark (6 AM) from the deck off the main floor of the house. The water was sooooo close to going into our basement. You can see the wood of the deck in the front of the pictures. The noise from the creek turned river was incredibly loud.

I also sewed a few more nine-patches this afternoon. It was my, "Yay--another school day finished" treat to myself.

Susanna and I are going to an all-night sew tomorrow night from 6 PM till midnight. Fun on the horizon.

~Joan

Happy Birthday To Me

Today was my birthday. It has been an unusual day in several ways. My husband told me last night that I should take the day off and do whatever I wanted. I took the opportunity to go to water aerobics, which I have not done in weeks. Rachel went with me, so the two of us went out for breakfast afterwards.

Many times today I reflected on how blessed I am because of my husband and children. My sweet husband thinks of others so often. He works diligently and efficiently to provide the many earthly things we enjoy. I am reminded of his hard work every time I use our appliances, drive in our Pilot, put on clothing he has worked to provide... He. is. amazing.

Each of my children wrote me a note, and several gave me gifts. I enjoyed each and every one.

I have to brag on a few things my kids have done recently. One of my daughters has moved in with a family temporarily to help the mother. The mom had a baby about four weeks ago and has had an unexplainable incapacitating headache ever since. Doctors have ruled out several things, but there is still no answer, and the headache is still there. My daughter is cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, home schooling two of their boys while she still attends college herself, and works at a local restaurant. I am so proud of her sacrifical spirit for her friend.

Another daughter cooked me an amazing birthday lunch and made my favorite cake. She is always giving rides to others and being generally useful to our family and others.

One of my sons frequently (and today!) meets financial needs of others by buying them a meal or providing a small gift that really boosts their spirits. He is so generous.

Another daughter goes to a nursing home every Monday. There is not much in it for her, but she goes to be a blessing and an encouragement...and she IS!!

That is just a smackerel of things for which I am grateful.

~Joan, thankful for another year :)