Quilting Makes Life Better

 Concentrating on the good stuff:   My new funky compression socks...fall leaves, Celtic knots, etc and Christmas ones on the way.  My legs already feel better!!  Crazy Compression socks 

 Daily I am getting more energy.  Patchwork resumes!!

 Here are some of the things I am continuuing with:  

Cutting new 5.5 inch blocks for scrap donation..quilt   

Steam a Seam light for applique, run thru my cool and awesome electric Accucutter

It is so invigorating to be sewing again!

For some of life's reasons, sadness has been hanging around.  My misbehaving son continues to break my heart. He is 40 now... Missing my husband....and of course grandmother and mother, etc.  My niece died 6 months ago, at 38  leaving my sister and nephew in a sad fog.  My hip recovery is so slow...However, my daughter in Portland is grand with her chickens, cat, dog and family...She insists that having six egg laying hens is heaven.. I have to believe her when she insists that chickens are not only pettable..but kissable too....OMG..  I have never even seen an upclose chicken, never mind pet one or have one on my lap. Hmmmm....

This is my latest poultry possession...Sorry, Emily.....This is the best I can do!!

Quilt Patch Fabric in Stallings is selling Pearl Cotton for $1.99.  I could not say no.....

My brand new walking foot...Now Little Red travel machine has been put away...

My 8900 is heaven...

Why is blogging so slow...age is upon me????

The weather is lovely including some leaves changing.  I have great support here with an awesome pool, cards, sewing, great  new friends...Finally I am driving....I cannot  wait to go to the library and connect with old time friends. Leaving yesterday is hard for me.  Concentrating on the gratitude of today means all the difference.  Sad to say that  my exercise consists of my strong and growing PayPal finger...And, relaxation is on the pool deck reading in the sun.

 

New Friends, etc

Yesterday the weather was 72 and sunny.  Last night it was 35 and snowing...Big fat white flakes...amazing...Guess winter is here.

Above, my girl makes an apron for her girl to use while harvesting eggs..See the pockets :)

Below a new friend of mine made me a crochet bowl...

Our 10 year old family cat , Stitch, now lives in Portland with my daughter.  Here, Stitch meets Bock-Bock...hmmm

Below Stitch meets Rosie...hmmm Rosie wants to play, our Stitch holds his own.

I am not blogging because I am not sewing.  I am 6 months into recoup for  my hip replacement ...doing well, but not fast enough!! I saw the shoulder surgeon last week.  He said the shoulder has to be replaced.  It is in very bad shape.  He refuses to do it until my hernia is repaired...My Oh My...is old age fun!!!  I will be looking at two more surgeries in the upcoming future.  

I ordered some sale fat quarters on Spoonflower...What else would a woman do to cheer her day???

Sewing friends drop by tomorrow...Wednesdays at 11 am for lunch...in our Bistro...new/old friends Welcome.  My tiny, one bedroom apartment with a lovely patio has no dining table and no sofa...What it does have is bookcase after bookcase of what is left of my fabric collection of 60 years.

Yesterday I was strong enough to update my driver's license and get my real ID.  I got an appointment in two days.  I took my passport and mail and old driver's license etc, etc.   I asked where the handicapped seating was...It was empty but for me.  In five minutes I was called up...no eye test, no written test...just important paperwork to prove I was legit....out in 20  minutes...OMG  A miracle in North Carolina.  It is good for 5 years since I am considered old...ha ha ha ha ha  I have not driven in at least 8 months...Wahoo...a new teenager...World, I am back!!!

All is well today.  Leaves are changing; Weather is changing and I am not what I used to be... 

Sunday, my great DIL brought all my grands to visit.  They picked up things dropped on the floor and took me to dinner....Mexican is  always my favorite since I grew up in Phoenix.

Life is mostly good.  Friends are great.

My hope is that all of you enjoy the life too xo

Chicken Story ad nauseum....

 A chicken story to die for:

My girl's man got 7 chickens to avoid getting a cat....Now dressed in a chix costume for Halloween OMG

Bock-Bock is Aoife's favorite chicken.  She comes when she is called and allows her stomach to be scratched.  She is now sick.;..What to do when your five  year old loves, loves, loves her pet chicken.

Of course call the chicken vet!!  Well there are only 2 chicken vets in Portland.  Both charge $195...for assessment...hmmmmm  After much debate, guess where Bock Bock is going?????

Below is my girl's beginning of another chicken diaper...I offered my fabric, but she said it was not modern enough!  Not modern enough for a diaper for a chicken???? Ok...

And, then there is a cat story in case you are bored with chickens....Our favorite 10 year old  O'Quilt family cat had been living for 3 years with grands....Oops...now they can not longer take care of him...So..he goes to Portland with Emily when she leaves NC back to Oregon.  Here my grands say goodbye for now.

No animal can go across state  lines without a paper of health from a certified health vet.  $250.

A special cat carrier for airplanes...required...$50.  An airplane ticket...$150....etc...plus agreement with the husband who is not fond of cats....Hmmm..

Aoife loved Stitch!!!!   He was locked in my girl's sewing room for the night....Soon , he was found on Aoife's pillow purring away.

In the morning Aoife had puffy face and runny  nose...hmmmm  cat allergy????  Off to the pediatrician.... goes Aoife....

Charlotte is a relaxing place to live as Grandma O'Quilts detaches from the lives of others....

Sewing?? Yup..vinyl pouch for my cards...

End of day drama...My sewing machine skips stitches and does not sew...eg bringing bobbin up to needle making a stitch.  My friend upstairs fixed it....Darn...10 min later...another broken needle.  This machine just came out of the shop..Sigh... Grateful am I that I am now very mature...no throwing of the machine out the window, nor saying assorted other words. I left a message on the answering machine at the repair shop....We will see how goes tomorrow....Meantime my new Janome red travel machine comes out to save the day....

A marvelous day with quilting friends...

A marvelous sunny, breezy fall day.

Life is good after all.

The Chicken Quilt

Good Lord.  It has been so long since I have posted, that I almost forgot how!!  Evidently I have been dealing with my hip replacement longer than  I had planned.  I am five months in and they are saying it will take up to a year because of the posterior cut  hip replacement surgery.  I am getting better...slowly but better. Today, I exercised in the pool, played cards and took a nap.  Not bad for an old retired woman. 

The above quilt chicken pattern comes from:Slice of Pi, Chicken Quilt

The pieced backing is below... reproduction feedsack and eggs in a frying pan!! Thank you Sherry and Charmaine for the frying pan Foust donation!! The quilt was quilted in record time by the wonderful, Mary Jerz....She put her own love into it...

My darling North Carolina grands are below...soooo very grown up!! This grandma is proud!!

Back to the chickens:  My Portland granddaughter from my daughter:  Aoife, age 5.  She adores the chickens as you can see: Of course they are all cuddled in  the sheep quilt I had made her when she was

two...Also...as you can see, on the family room couch.

All six hens are laying now...OMG!!

The Portland family is cooking eggs daily... And, BTW, there is no crisis in Portland...It is a down to earth freedom loving city.....

And so it goes.  Fall has come to Charlotte with crisp temperatures and pretty leaves.  We are all so very lucky and grateful xo

Sweater weather

Happy Wednesday

Aoife home sick from school hugging Bok Bok,her favorite chicken...

Bok Bok and Rosie enjoying the second floor landing in their home.  Bok Bok joined Rosie...Rosie does not know quite what to do and Bok Bok is chatting incessantly...Poor dog!!

Today was the best day in a long time.  Quilting friends from forever ago came to our Wednesday quilting here at my place...Lunch, laughing and fabric and quilt talk.  Dinner with other friends and still another late night chat.  Happiness is connection with friends..!!  Amen!!

My sewing machine is ready to be picked up from the shop!!!  TBTG...My sister is coming to help me pick it up...Grateful to the owners of Quilt Patch Fabrics in Matthews, NC for expediting the repair...So sad and lonely is a quilter without her bestie machine.

Nothing much to show you sewing-wise as most is in process and not finished...Just blogging so I do  not lose the touch!!!!  xo

Good Stuff/ Sad Stuff

 Yesterday my quilt was hung in our art room..Purple Mountain Majesty..I made it a number of years ago...just was lucky to show it off now.

A few leaves from last year...soon to meet this year's leaves.

And, below, the sunflower card I recieved today from my granddaughter, Aoife...my kindergarten girl.

Thank you mucho, Aoife!!  Grandma loves you.

Tonight I finished my goal of the past two days:  I made 10 potholder tops...A greatly enjoyable time.

Tomorrow, I will pick the backings...another fun project!!!

As I was perusing fabric scraps for the potholders, I came about this scrap from the first day of kindergarten shirt I made for my son 35 years ago.  He looked so adorable going off to school.  When he came home, his shirt was so dirty that I could barely make out the dinosaurs....He thus continued all his life...enjoying muddy things...My wonderful son is still really struggling...This piece of memory sent a few tears rolling tonight.

It is always late at night when sad things hit me.

This morning I went to the pool.  I always feel so much better after that exercise...Why do I not do it every day??  Guess that weakness called laziness hits me. My apartment complex group plays Hand and Foot card game several times a week.  I have met many nice folks..and watched sadly as those start to lose their focus and can no longer play.  Today that happened...A friend in her 90's got so confused that she was taken back to her apartment by her caregiver ......

Nothing like fabric to cheer a day.  No one who is not a sewist can imagine how delightful it is to sort 

through scraps for the perfect fit, color, design and memories..

Fabric and Chickens...again...

Well now, quilting  yesterday with Charmaine and Linda brought fun, support and the gift of their organizational skills...  Things finished: 

Janet's 6x9" potholders to fit right into her drawer,

From Portland comes a picture of hens sneaking up to Aoife's bedroom onto clean holiday sheets!

The last of the prepared children's washcloths...Thank you , Linda!

Voila   The first  egg...five months later, from Clover...in Portland....My first grand-egg!!

Good job Clover...you are so grown up now!!

A tiring good day today....pool exercise in the morning and PT in the afternoon....Dear me...PT as we know, stands for  physical terrorist.  I am exhausted.  It is cooling down in Charlotte as the year whips by.

Aoife, above did not want to go to Kindergarten two days in a row...All made better by the school librarian who raises chickens...TBTG  For that librarian, Aoife wore her 

chicken T-shirt.

My Oregon relatives are chicken crazy.

Here in the family room we find three chickens resting on my antique quilt from c.1910!!!

Who raised that girl of mine??

I have lost almost all of my favorite bloggers...When bloglovin went wrong...even now I cannot find them...sad, but true..

Artsy Craftsy Show

 

First up...darling 5  year old Aoife...home sick for the first two days of kindergarten...So sad that she had to have two of her pet chickens cuddle with her on the sofa.....

When my friend Margaret had identical twin granddaughters, I had  to make quilts...The twins were at risk and it all turned out great!! They are now 3 months old, same age as my girl when we adopted her...

These quilts are for the stroller and/or car seat...as the children age, these can be used for doll quilts.  Sherry  kindly embroidered each girl's name on the quilts...Eloise and Adelaide!!!

My friend here at the complex picked out some fabric for patching the hole in her pants...Voila my patch for her...Another friend is using the second patch that matches for a pocket patch on the back of the black pants...

I whipped out these two rope bowls last night to put in the Art room open house this afternoon...So thrilled I found colored rope online....Orange for the fall.

Baby face cloths covered with children's fabric.  My occupational therapist just had a baby girl.  She also has a two year old son...I made two for the new daughter's bathtime and two for her son...

There was such a lovely craft/art/hobby show in our theater area a few days back.. I showed my wares and appreciated those of others...Here is a buddy who does wood carving...I just loved his wooden bowtie!!  My attendees loved first my African fabric; second the rope bowls.  I was  grateful that it was just a show and not a sale...so relaxing and fun.

Today was a lovely day. I am expecting tomorrow to be the same...Nice to be a retired old lady with an apartment full of stunning fabric...Sigh....xoxo

Quilting at my place today brought Linda and Sherry and my sister...So much laughter and of course they helped me do things around that I am afraid to do without falling....I am so very grateful 

Are You Tired of Chickens Yet???

 Goodness...Tonight my SIL and Aoife returned home safely from Ireland...Whew

My daughter had a lovely restful time with her chickens and her sewing machine and her music...peace and quiet...now happy her family is home.

My girl has already started with her Halloween decorations!!!!!  Wonder what her live chickens think?

 

Guess the live chickens prefer the safety of inside on the carpet in the family room!! 

First chicken diaper made!!!  SOS  Emily called to say that the chickens do NOT like the diapers and refuse to wear them...hmmm   Now on to the U-tube special on how to put a chicken diaper on a chicken the happy and easy way.. hmmm

The quilts I made for Margaret's  twin granddaughters... Evidently Josie likes one of them better than her own bed..

Card pouch finished for Jackie...Hand and Foot card game, this laminate  pouch holds all four decks.

Secured with Velcro..

Lucky me went to my first Sit and Sew at the local library.  (first in 9 months) I added hardware to 40 key fobs.

I love the Charlotte Modern  Quilt Guild..Was so thrilled to see my friends and be out and about....I am quite wobbly and weak still....but zero hip pain.

Below, in a basket made by my daughter...sit the fobs that are ready for gifting:

Today was full.  Friends invited me to brunch here in one of our 5 restaurants; I read outside on my patio, another friend came by for several hours to discuss books,  philosophy and poetry.

Then off to play cards and to dinner made in another friends apartment...My goodness, Pearl was nowhere to be found..just a lovely day.

Back home tonight, a silly movie and my sewing machine.  I had a tiny bit of clothesline rope left...It was fun to fiddle with scraps making it up into a small rope bowl.  Not perfection, but it will still go into my box of gifts.

Thinking that since September is soon, I would start making some fall items.  I have things that need to be done, but improv is much more relaxing.  So preferring Want over Need.

Every day I am a tiny bit better.  Two physical therapists told me that a posterior hip replacement surgery could take up to one year, not 3 months.  Meantime the shots I had to take to lose the weight for the surgery have stopped.  This has left me with a huge destructive craving for sugar...Sigh...And so life goes on....Many  things to be thankful for, including the energy to write a blogpost.

An Update

Well, evidently I have been neglecting my blog!  The surgery slowed me down, despite the no pain thing.  My hip joint was so damaged, that the operation was the old fashioned way...thru the back muscle with 50 staples...taking much longer to heal.

Here  is one of Margaret's new twin granddaughters....on the small doll's quilt I made each of them...The twins are 2.5 months old.

Forever chicken pictures out of Portland:  Aoife felt her mother needed a chicken cuddle, so she ran around the  yard catching two chickens for her mother to hold......in the family room!!

 

A treat I bought myself at Trader Joe's....Stock..lovely smell...this plant grew in Phoenix when I was growing up.  Below, also the lavendar my girl sent me from  her yard in Oregon.    

Someone here asked me how I was....zero hip pain....but now I have to have a tooth pulled from grinding during stress...Jeeze Louize!!  My feet hurt, etc....but a friend told me that that was the OA virus...The old age virus..something always hurts.

Just when I was about to work on my key fobs and washcloths...the electricity went out...It locked my sewing machine into the updown stitch...OMG  I do not want to go thru all the effort of taking it in..to the shop for one stuck button...The electricity going out did it.  A  big tree had crashed the wires in our neighborhood.  I have to sew!!!!  The lady across the way from me...put my red Janome travel machine on a table for me...Whew...!!

I have lots of recovering to do after this operation...I hate slow, but I love pain-free!!

Goals for self:

bind scrap quilt

finish key fobs

finish wash cloths

make a child's quilt for the guild

start tons of new projects as my mind keeps discovering possibilities!!

The quilting life keeps me going.

My joy is to make things to give away!!

PS:  I am losing it. It took me an hour to set up the little red...remember how to do this and that...OMG  In this pix  just one key fob is sewn.  I had planned to whip out 20 tonight...no power; messed up expensive machine by the power outage...re-learning machine number 2..  .Now I am irritated...gotta do a gratitude list...or maybe just go to bed.

This picture says it all...Maybe my mind is going??  Maybe I  tried to do too much...Maybe I should realize that it is almost  12:30 at night..

Just ugh!!!  (Thank you for listening)