{Post 1,242} End of Birthday Day

The rest of my birthday was splendid.  Several of my children went together and got me an hour-long massage to be scheduled later.  Mmmmmmmmm.....  Thanks so much Emily & Steve, Ben, Rachel, and Isaac.

Then I went to the studio to await the surprise.  I put a movie on loudly so I wouldn't be tempted to listen for clues.

When I was finally brought up, I was sooooo surprised.  Wes had invited over a great friend, Molly Swaffer, and her family.  She has 4 young children (7 down to 1), and I can hardly believe I didn't hear any noise from downstairs!  Amazing!!

Wes and the kids made one of my all-time favorite meals, shrimp fettucini alfredo.  Ben made Red Lobster biscuits.  They were as good as the originals!!  Molly brought a fruit pizza.  What a tremendous meal.

They wouldn't let me help clean up supper dishes (oh, well!), so I taught Andrew (7) how to play Five Crowns.  He picked up on it really well.  A little bit later six of us played a game.  

Then I played Settlers of Catan for the first time.  There was a lot to take in, but I didn't do too shabbily.  Came in second with 8 victory points.  I learned a lot about it while playing and fully expect to win next time (here's to high hopes!).  

All in all a very special day thanks to my precious family.

{Post 1,241} It's My Birthday!

Today's my birthday!  I woke up to a love note on my bathroom mirror from my hubby.  That made it special.

Then he brings me a diet Dr. Pepper on ice.  That made it special.

Then he brings me my own package of Pecan Sandies.  That made it special.

Then Rachel yells at me from down the hall to come get the door (I am thinking, "Get it yourself--you're right there!").    But I go.  It's a man from a local florist shop with these...that made it special.

Daisies are my favorite flowers.  The card says "Happy Birthday.  I love you.  Wes.  Yours for life."  That made it special.

Then I go down to do an exercise DVD (thankful I have the health to do that).  On my sewing machine table (I exercise in my studio) are a canister of multigrain cheddar Pringles and a bag of garlic bagel chips.  Kinda counterproductive to the whole exercise thing, but I had the will power to wait to open them.  I did cast a lot of glances their way.  They remain unopened.  That made it special.

Then my husband suggests I take our youngest two kids out for lunch.  That made it special. 

Don't know how much more I can take, but I'm up to the challenge!!

He told me I am being sequestered to my studio at 4:30 until he comes to get me.  THAT I can handle.  I told him whatever it was, to take his time!!

I got phone calls from my second and third daughters.  Some of the things I talked about with each of them brought tears to my eyes.  They are both such sweet, accomplished girls.  They are grateful for things they learned growing up here.  That was so good to hear.

Update tomorrow!

{Post 1,240} Two Minis...Scale is Crucial

Here are two minis I pieced this AM.  Both are 12-1/2" square.  The one on the left has 2" finished blocks, the one on the right has 3" finished blocks.  I like them both.  Choosing a size depends on what looks you want.  

A close-up of the one on the left, which will be added to my stack of mini quilts after quilting for my someday mini-quilt wall.

Both are pieced from men's shirts and muslin.  I think the one with 3" blocks would look good with the outer muslin edge trimmed down a bit with a plaid border.  But I'm leaving that up to the new owner.

{Post 1,239} Two Zip Bags Made

A few days ago I stopped in a local quilt shop to pass some time.  That was the day of the airport mix-up.  I bought an Atkinson Designs pattern while I was in there.  If you've never used her patterns, they are fantastic!  The directions are so well laid out!

I made one from the floral fabric first.  I wanted to enlarge the height of the bag (so I didn't cut off the kitty) and wanted to test drive it on this fabric before I made one for my daughter from the cat print.  She recently got a black kitten (I am terribly allergic to cats and will miss my daughter!).  I wanted to show my support but not visit!!  The fact that she's 900 miles away is also a factor ;)

The cat bag is 8" x 6", the floral is 8" x 5".

Then I went down and made this little pocket zip.  There is a pocket on both sides on the outside.  This would be a perfect wallet.  Bills folded in half fit inside nicely as well as room for change.

{Post 1,238} Lady in Waiting

Yesterday I was out and unexpectedly had 2-1/2 hours on my hands.  There was a mix-up as to when I needed to pick up some folks at the airport, and I ended up realizing there had been a mistake after waiting an hour at the airport.  The time sort of flew because I was reading an interesting book on my Kindle.  Going home would have been a huge waste of time.  What's a girl to do?

Fortunately, I still had my "lady-in-waiting" bag in my purse from my recent FL trip.  This phrase is one I got from my friend, Janet, at the Rogue Quilter blog.  I was able to make 2 whole more hexagons and attach them to the mother ship.  

First picture shows a PIECED center hexagon (I didn't have one fabric big enough, but I couldn't let that little detail stop me from making progress).  Second picture is the progress so far on this project.  I have a bobbin in the top left hexagon to show scale.

{Post 1,237} Queen-Sized GFG So Far

This shows the meager beginnings of my queen-sized Grandmother's Flower Garden.  I just realized I will want to put half-blocks all around the edge.  I propped a piece of white paper on the pins holding the block up so I could see how it would look.  That will work!  I will need many more blocks before this becomes a reality.  No timetable, so I'm good!

{Post 1,236} Some Sewing on the Trip

With so many hours in the car (and a few minutes in the house when everyone was gone or whatever), I did some hand sewing on this trip to Florida over the weekend.  My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary on 8/13, and my daughter was celebrating her 2nd on the same day.

Here is what I accomplished...NEARLY completing FOUR Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks.  I also basted a lot of the green diamonds that go between the blocks.  I arranged the ones in the second picture so one could see where the diamonds will go once the final layout is determined.

Since these pictures, I completed all four out to the cream rings.

I returned home with a few new projects to make for Emily.  She loves the shopping cart cover.  It turned out very well.