Alaska Here I Come!

Woohooooooo!!!  I am going to Alaska on a Midnight Cruise With Bonnie Hunter!  8 days of quilting with my idol and Alaskan vistas all around!  It just doesn't get better than this.  My friend, Roz, and I will be traveling together.  I absolutely cannot wait to go.  I do need the 9 months I have to wait to save the money to pay for the whole shebang!  I hope to pay it off by the time we travel so I can really just enjoy the trip without worrying about expenses. 

Today I spent the day at Farmhouse Quilts making Christmas stockings with my quilting buddies.  We had a wonderful time.  Janet's place is such a nice shop and it is such fun to hang out there all day and sew.

Our local quilt shop was destroyed in Hurricane Sandy.  We are waiting for the new shop to open.  Angie found a new location and they are in the process of setting it all up and getting ready for us.  I miss the girls there and look forward to seeing them all again.

Bonnie Hunter "Easy Street" Mystery Quilt Along

Here it is November and Bonnie is beginning her mystery quilt a long again this year.  This one is called EASY STREET.  I love her quilts and loved getting started on this one.  Below is my progress and fabric choices.  I finished 92 four patches the first day.  Working on the next set tomorrow.

SANDY!

It has been some time since I posted here.  I have been very busy with my sewing and with the family.  I have made four quilts for my sisters and sisters-in-law for Christmas, doll clothes for my grandaughters American Girl dolls, aprons for the church fair and some cosmetic bags over the last several months.

This past week Hurricane Sandy paid us all on the East Coast a visit.  She was one nasty lady.  She left devastation in her path in NJ, NYC and on Long Island.  Breezy Point in NYC lost 111 houses to a fire during the storm that was unreachable by Fire Dept. due to flooding.  Long Beach, The Rockaways, Fire Island, Mastic Beach, Westhampton Beach, Hampton Bays are just some of the areas that had awful flooding and lots of damage here in NY.  New Jersey's east coast was just devastated in so many areas.  It has been 10 days now and people are still without power...some without homes at all.  The temperatures are dropping and it is cold out there for those without heat.  Help is coming from all over the country and God bless those that answered the call.  We had men from North Carolina work to get us our power back after 7 days without.  We were luckier than most though as we had a generator so we had lights, hot water, gas stove for cooking and a wood stove for heat.  So many have lost so much more than I could fathom.  To add insult to  injury we had a nor'easter hit us yesterday and the night before.  Winds up to 70 mph and heavy rain that turned to snow.  Some parts of NYC, NJ and western Long Island got several inches of snow on top of all the damage already sustained in Sandy.  The death toll from the storms rises every time I turn on the news.  I am counting my many blessings every day.

I am preparing for a mystery quilt again this year with Bonnie Hunter (The Scrap Quilt Queen).  This year it will be lime green, turquiose, purple, gray and white/black as background.  Sounds wild, but everything Bonnie does is just gorgeous when finished so I am going with it!  I ordered what fabric I needed and am just waiting for the first "clue".

My fibromyalgia seems to be getting worse or I am losing my tolerance for the pain.  I am now on an antidepressant that is supposed to help with fibro pain as well as depression.  It seems to help a little, but certainly doesn't take it all away.  The arthritis is also really painful this year.  I had gall bladder surgery a few months ago.  Funny thing though...I still keep having pain on my right side a lot.  Haven't a clue what it is.  Will discuss with my doctor in Dec. when I go for my regular checkup. 

Things are winding down here at work.  As I have said before, we are going out of business in December so these last two months are preparation for that.  It is very depressing here as we pack up boxes and finish off the last job we had on the books.  I still have no idea if my boss has another place for me.  He told me not to worry when he first let us know about this business closing, but that was a year ago and he hasn't said anymore to me since.  So of course I worry.  I am 60 yrs. old my next birthday and must continue working until age 66 for maximum soc. sec. benefits so I am very worried about my future.  With the economy the way it is those jobs that are out there are being grabbed up my young ones willing to take one third what I am making to do the same job.  Its going to be touch to find a job at my age.

Guess that's it for now......

Connecting Threads Wishlist Contest

http://www.ConnectingThreads.com/cfCart/viewWishlist.cfm?wishlistid=C0FD4682-1EC9-F6B4-AB9626FE418ED3A9&media=WLBL


Here is a link for the Connecting Threads Wishlist Contest.  Wouldn't that be awesome to be a winner!!  My favorite social site as well as shopping site!

Post Surgery!

Well it is Thursday of the 4th of July week and I am home recuping from gall bladder surgery.  Now, I am not one of those babies about pain.  There were a whole lot of people who lied to me about this surgery!  I was told over and over again that being it is laproscopic surgery I would be good as new in 3 days....bull cr%#@!  I had two caeserean's with my pregnancies and although this isn't quite as painful as that it was a close second!  Can't wear pants at all yet...rubs against two of the incisions and hurts.  Can't sleep on my side because that pulls everything and that hurts.  Just a pain in the putukiss!  Looking forward to it being over alltogether.  I am also still recuping from throwing my back out last Tuesday night after a sewing class.  I was putting my machine back in the car and lo and behold I hear this "pop" and feel this "pinch" in my back.  By the time I got home I was in agony.  I had to cancel Thursday nights class and then again on Saturday.  The "pinching" pain is still there if I go up and down steps or turn the wrong way so I am thinking it is sciatica.  My left thigh goes numb as well if I stand too long in one position.  I gotta tell you this getting older stuff is for the birds...certainly not golden years.

Even with all that going on I have been sewing.  I am hand sewing on my crazy quilt which I will post when I finish it.  It is made from 30's fabrics.  I also was working on the wool BOM we are doing.  So I have been busy with it all.  I think I will go through some of my pictures and post a few of the quilts I have done in the last year or so.

The bottom one was made for my 6 yr. old grandaughter for her "big girl" bed.  It is Joanna's Garden from the Elm Creek books.  Above that is a cardinal holiday wall hanging and above that is a Christmas holly red/white checkerboard designed by Barbara Fein at our local quilt shop.  Above that is a  quilt called "hanging gardens" that we did as a class and above that is a stained glass window effect done as a stack n whack.  At the top are some stocking ornaments I donated for the craft fair at church last year. 

The three pictures above those are a flannel that I made three of for my sons-in-laws, a pillow for Christmas and a picture of all my kids with their Christmas gift quilts for their beds.

Last year was a real busy year for me in the sewing room.  I made so many more that I don't have pictures for.  When I look back I wonder how I found the time (and money) to do them all.  I know that I loved doing it!

Tomorrow will be my first day driving after the surgery....guess where I am going?  That's right....my Friday Night Sit N Sew with the girls!  Can't let a little thing like a major operation stop me from going.  Off to rest up for it.........good night!

Another Day in the Life......

It's been a while since I even looked at my own blog page.  I have been very busy sewing, sewing, sewing.  I am making some tote bags for the Christmas Fair in Dec. along with some more aprons this year.  I have started a crazy quilt done with 30's reproduction fabrics and a spider web quilt pattern as well.  I am now doing a strip quilt, a bargello quilt, a carry-all weekender bag, my monthly simple sampler blocks, a wool block of the month and still finishing up the Stitcher's Garden.  All of this in addition to the old projects still waiting to be finished up.  They include my Back to Nature quilt, two Thimbleberries quilts, many finished tops to be quilted, etc. etc.

I am having gall bladder surgery next Monday and will be home for a week recuperating, so I hope to be able to catch up a bit then.  I am a bit nervous about having this surgery.  I am not sure with the fibromyalgia how the pain afterwards will be.  Hopefully they give me some good drugs to help with that!

My two daughters that were having some real issues seem to be making their way back to some kind of relationship again.  I have tried very hard not to get too involved in this whole thing...and believe me it wasn't easy.  I encouraged them to speak to each other and not to everyone else about their issues with each other.  Get it off your chest...bring it all out into the open and talk it over.  Don't know how  much of that they have really done, but at least they are talking.  That is more than they have done over the last year.  I cannot tell you how much sleep I have lost worrying about the two of them.  It was so painful having them at each others throats for so long.  I really pray that the healing is beginning.

I need to take some pictures of the quilts I have finished in the last several months and get them on here.  I am really slacking with that these days.  There is just not enough time in the day.  My fibromyalgia is really causing me to slow down as well.  The pain levels are getting pretty hard to deal with lately.  I am not sleeping through the night unless I take something to help and I don't want to get in the habit of that.  I still haven't tried any of the new drugs on the market to treat fibro.  I am afraid of side effects...short term and long term.  These things haven't been on the market long enough for them to know how they will effect people.  Some of these new drugs can cause cancer, heart attacks and death.  I would rather suffer with the pain thank you!  I try to take the minimum amount of meds that I can.  Bad enough I have to take the blood pressure, thyroid and cholesterol meds.

That's it for now.....

Some Musings...

Just sitting here at work today with nothing to do to help pass the time.  It is really getting so slow as we wind down the last of the work we have on the books.  Once this last job is done it won't be long before we close the doors for good.  Nineteen years in this place...it will be hard to go.  I have worked with so many fine people here over the years and I will miss them terribly.  I still do not know just what my boss has in mind for me.  He told me "not to worry about anything" when the announcement was made that they were closing up shop.  I am not 100% sure just what that means.  His wife tells me that I will have a job with something else he is involved in but that I may have to commute further than I have.  There are two places he owns businesses here.  One would be a commute of over an hour and the other not much less.  I would prefer one over the other, but still not crazy about traveling that far for work.  I really cannot be picky though...I need a job and would much rather stick with someone I know than go out and go through interviews and such.  I have never had to go that route.  Every job I have ever held (and that is only 4) was a recommendation by a friend and I was hired after just a few minutes with the owner.  I have no degree...just a high school diploma.  All I know I learned on the job.  It is hard to make up a resume with my kind of background.  I wish I could just retire, but with a mortgage hanging over my head and not being old enough for social security it will just have to wait a while.

I have been sewing up a storm these last few weeks.  I took a class on making crazy quilts at a place called Farmhouse Quilting in Southold, NY and I am working on the hand sewing of all those crazy stitches.  That ought to take me a while! LOL  I have signed up for many classes in the next 8 weeks to keep me busy.  I did finish the civil war tribute quilt that I started over a year ago.  I cannot wait to get it quilted now.  I still have my Back to Nature quilt to finish.  I think I did up to the 7th month of blocks on it and got sidetracked.  I really want to pull that out and get to work on it again.  I also need to finish up last years Thimbleberries quilt.  I have 3 more months of blocks to do and at least 3 borders to piece together to finish that up.  So much to do....so much to do.....

New projects

Here are a few of the things I have been working on lately.  I finally finished the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt with Bonnie Hunter! 

I absolutely love this quilt.  It was such fun working on it with thousands of others worldwide and I cannot wait to get it quilted!!

Here is another I finished a couple of months ago.  It is called Gemstones.

Here is the quilt from our local quilt shop retreat in Southampton in February....

And a cute little Christmas tree that was designed by our local quilt shop teacher Diane using the Lil Twister tool.  Sorry it is sideways...couldn't get it turned around.

I love my quilting so much....it gives me such joy to finish a project and see the final product.

On a sadder note....on Easter Sunday my Mom's oldest sister, Trudy, was found dead in her apartment.  Mom and her other sister, Ellen, are both devastated by this loss.  The three of them were always together.  They didn't do anything without each other.  My Mom has had so many losses  in her life.  I wish I knew how to make it easier for her.  She has her faith to comfort her and I am so thankful for that. 

I am off to my sewing room now to finish up assembling the blocks on a crazy quilt I am working on. 

See you next time....

Weekend Retreat

I have just returned from our annual Pieceful Quilting Retreat at the Southampton Inn.  The Inn changed hands sometime over the last year and boy do they need to get their act together.  The chef is no where near as good as the one from the last two years and the lack of communication between the staff had two of our ladies with "special needs" diets left without meals that fit their needs.  I think these are pretty darned important mistakes as these dietary  needs were medically necessary...not just a preference.  The staff had been told three weeks prior and still couldn't get it right.  So that part of the weekend was a real disappointment.  The mystery quilt we did was pretty cool...although when I first saw the fabric choices I thought it would end up really ugly!  We made a "scrappy" quilt out of some of the ugliest fabrics I have ever seen and it came out pretty!  Our teacher, Diane, became a grandmother for the 4th time during the weekend.  She is the lovliest lady and a fabulous teacher.

I just love quilting retreats...I always have such a great time hanging out with others (stangers and friends) who share my love of quilting.  I make new friends and enrich current friendships.  I wish I could go on more of these three day weekends! 

I will be going to Lancaster, PA next month for 6 days to the national show.  I and a friend are scheduled to take five classes while we are there and also do a bunch of shopping.  Of course, we will be visiting the quilt show as well.  I cannot wait for this vacation!  Hoping that my friend is feeling much better for this trip than she did for the weekend retreat.  Not feeling well put a real damper on her weekend (and mine). 

Back to work for now...

My Friend

Since I blogged last I have lost a very dear friend.  His name is Father Daniel S. Harris, former rector of St. Mary's Church, HB, NY.  I was his secretary from 1981 through 1985 and it was the best job I ever had.  I joined his church because of the way he did my father's funeral service back in 1981.  He was the chaplain of the local volunteer fire department of which my Dad was chief.  He ministered to our family greatly during those days and continued to for the next 30 years.  Even after Dan left us and moved to Massachusetts to another parish he came home for weddings (mine), births, funerals and just to visit his wife's hometown.  Oh how this town loved this man.  He was the best priest I have ever known.  The witness of faith I have seen from him, his wife and their family is a gift of God's grace.  You see, it was just a few short months ago that they lost their son, Josh to a drug overdose.  Dan's wife, Robin, must be one of God's angels because she has born all of this and still can smile and count blessings.  Dan served the Fire Dept. in MA, NY and even the men in NYC after 9-11.  He "worked" the pile  ministering to the men there.  He was so dedicated to spreading the word and his ministry to the men.  What an amazing man he was.  I know that he is at peace now and it is only us here that are saddened and miss him.  Time will heal the loss and I will be able to rejoice in his leaving as he would want me to.  Rest in Peace dear friend...rest in peace.

Orca Bay Step 5 & 6

Here are some pics of my progress....

Only a couple of steps left to this mystery.  I cannot wait to see what we are doing with the strings and triangles.  I absolutely love these little stars!

Christmas

Christmas at our house was a bit different this year.  Because I have two daughters who aren't on the best of terms this year we ended up having our Family Christmas on Christmas Eve Day.  They were civil, but certainly not loving.  I keep waiting for them to wake up.  Anyway....the children certainly had a good time.  I made quilts for all of my family (3 daughters, 3 sons-in-law and one stepson).  Everyone seemed to love them so that made me happy!  For my grandchildren I had been buying coin collections over the last 10 years and gifted them with them this year.  The two boys got Morgan Silver Dollars and Liberty Silver Dollars.  Samantha (oldest girl) got the collection of Peace Silver Dollars.  The two youngest got the Eisenhower and Susan B. Anthony collections.  They all got the startings of things like Roosevelt Dimes, Buffalo Nickels, Lincoln Pennies, Liberty Dimes and nickels, etc.  I am hoping that this gets them interested in doing more of the coin collecting.  I got them a couple of other little things as well.  They seemed excited by it all.

I spent Christmas morning at my youngest daughters house for breakfast and after that spent the rest of the day at home with just me and hubby.  He watched his shows and I went to the sewing cave for the rest of the day.  We had a nice lasagna for dinner and back to sewing I went.  I am working on the Orca quilt steps 5 & 6.  Finally got Step 5 done and now working on step 6.  I will post pictures of my kids with their quilts and my progress on the Orca quilt later tonight when I get home from work.  Yes...I have to work this week.  We are not busy so as you can see I am catching up here.

Our Friday Night (every week) Finishers is over with for the year.  It lasted from October through Christmas week and was such fun.  12 ladies getting together on Friday nights to sew and work on Christmas gifts for our families and friends.  I am so grateful for Pieceful Quilting for providing the venue and an advisor for our group to meet.  We will be meeting only once a month for the next 9 months now.  I used that time to make gifts, aprons for donation to the church fair and some pillow cases for home and the grands.  I look forward to meeting again in October.

Yesterday I took all my grandkids and went to the movies.  We saw "My family bought a Zoo!"  It is a great family movie.  The best part was being with all my grandkids for the afternoon.  Before I know it they will get old enough that they don't want to spend the day with Grandma!  I cherish these moments I have now.

Till next time............................

Orca Bay Update

Here are my finished Steps 1 - 4!  Doesn't look like much from this picture but it is lots of piecing!  I am loving the color combo and cannot wait to see what this quilt will look like.  I am off to set up the strips for cutting out Step #5.

Preparing for Christmas

It is only December 8th and what a start to this month it has been.  I got all 8 of the quilts back from the quilter that I am giving as gifts this year.  Four flannel lap quilts for the men in my life and one each for my daughters (bed size) and another for my sister-in-law in Florida.  I made 18 aprons (some for donation to the church fair) for gifts as well.  I am still working on my civil war tribute quilt as well as the Back to Nature quilt that I started last year as a block of the month.  I am also still working on the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt with Bonnie Hunter that we started in November.  It has certainly been a busy time for sewing in my house.

I had some terrible news as well to start off December.  My very dear friend, Father Dan Harris, is gravely ill.  Dan was my priest, my boss, my counselor, my mentor and is my very dear friend.  I met him in 1980 when my Dad passed away.  Dad was an ex-chief in our local fire department and Dan was his chaplain in the department.  When my Dad passed my Mom asked Dan to do the funeral services and that is how we met.  I was so impressed with his loving support of our family and the wonderful tribute he put together for my Dad that I began going to St. Mary's Church shortly thereafter.  I have been there ever since.  Dan was our rector for ten years and for 7 of those years I was his secretary.  He was a vibrant preacher and an amazing teacher.  The kids loved him...little ones and big ones!  He got people going to church that had never darkened the door step before.  He began a youth ministry locally and throughout our diocese that still continues today.  He supported our volunteers at ground zero after 9-11 by leaving his home in Massachusetts and going to the Trinity Church across from the WTC and ministering to the men and women there.  He came back to town so many times after he was transferred to MA to do family funerals, baptisms and weddings (including mine).  He has been such a loyal friend to our family over the last 30 years.  Now he is back here in Hampton Bays for his retirement.  He became ill suddenly with complications to his diabetes and I am told it is grave.  I am deeply saddened by this news and pray constantly for a miracle to take place and for him to be healed.  I did get the news this morning that they removed the ventilator from him and he is breathing on his own and they are weaning him off some meds and so far he is responding very well.  God is so good.  There are so many people praying for Dan to beat this that God just has to hear us all. 

On another note...I am a mother with daughters that are at odds with each other and it is putting a real damper on our holiday celebrations as a family.  It is causing us to cancel out our usual Christmas Day gathering and only being together as a whole for about an hour on Christmas eve morning.  I want them to sit down like two grown adults and hash out whatever is causing this rift.  I am trying very hard not to get involved or in the middle of it.  I tell them that I love them both and will not take sides or agree or disagree with either of them.  They must work this out themselves, but to do that they have to talk to each other.  So far that is not happening and the hurt continues.  So I will be spending Christmas Day at home with my husband...no kids...no grandkids.  It will be a first for me and I gotta tell you...I am not looking forward to it.  I wish that they would get on the bandwagon of peace on earth and good will towards sisters!  I pray that it eventually is settled with them because this whole thing is causing me great pain.

This weekend my quilt buddies (thank God for them) are getting together for our Christmas celebration at Sue's house.  I am really looking forward to it.  Just being with friends who share my love of all things quilting is such a joy!  I am amazed at the friends I have made since walking into Pieceful Quilting two years ago.  They are all such wonderful caring women...and fun too!

That's all for today folks....be back soon.

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt

Last week I started working on a Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt that she does every November.  This is my first foray into the world of Bonnie's mystery quilts.  This one is titled "Orca Bay".  She was inspired by Orca Bay in Alaska at sundown by all the magnificent colors across the water.  My color choices are the same as Bonnie's (that worked out as they were the only colors I had a lot of)...black, neutrals, red and blue.  So far we have made 224 hourglass black/neutral blocks (2.5") and I am now working on the blue string blocks (3") and there are 72 of them.

I am having a wonderful time playing with this quilt over the last two weeks.  So far I am keeping up with the pack!  I will update on this every week and post some new pics!

Some updates

My Mom had the gall bladder surgery and had a pretty rough time of it.  She had some complications due to her digitalis levels being too high...it was literally poisoning her.  Then they gave her ambien to help her sleep and it gave her hallucinations very badly.  Scared the hell out of her. (and me with the middle of the night phone call)  I went and had a sonogram to check out my gall bladder (no stones!) and instead they discovered an enlarged liver.  Now I have to see a specialist this month about that.  Quite frankly I am scared to death it is serious.  I do not drink so cannot be alcohol related cirrosis.

I have been quilting up a storm for the holidays.  Made the portfolio...loved that.  Made two more lap quilts..one for Halloween and another generic that I may use as a charity quilt.  I am now making pillowcases.  They are so easy and quick to make. 

My sister is recuperating from her open heart surgery (triple bypass).  That was a scare I don't want to repeat.  She is only 51 yrs. old. 

I am sure looking forward to my trip to Lancaster with Roz in March.  Five days of quilt show and classes with some excellent teachers...a quilter's dream vacation!

So Much Has Happened

It has been a couple of very eventful months for me.  My hubby had his gall bladder surgery (you would have thought he was the only one who ever had it) and had a long recovery from it.  He was out of work for 5 weeks before being cleared for light duty.  Now he has to address the issue of his back.  His doctor doesn't want to do surgery yet as it would be extensive.  They are going to try injections first and see if they help him at all.  He has a lot of pain so I hope that it does something for him.  He really  needs to get moving again.  He has been lying around on the couch for months now every afternoon and evening.  It is just not like him and he is driving me crazy!

My Mom also had medical issues.  She ended up in the hospital with stones blocking her bial duct.  They had to remove the stones and put in a temporary stent to allow the backed up bial to drain.  She has to go back and get that removed and then have the gall bladder out to prevent more stones.  Mind you she is 83 years old....not sure she is going to go for the gall bladder surgery.  She may just take her chances.

I have had some pain in my right side as well...thinking it is gall bladder too.  Went for a sonogram and am awaiting the test results.  My family is just having a jolly time with our gall bladders!

I have done a lot of quilting in the last months.  I completed the three quilts for my daughters and the four quilts for my son-in-laws and stepson for Christmas.  I have been working on some small projects with an online group that I belong to.  We made:  Christmas pillow, small handbag, star pin cushion, christmas gift box tree ornament, set of 3 cosmetic bags.  I still have to make the file holder, sachets, pot holders, cactus pin cushion, etc. that the rest of the group has done.  Each week they pick a different project to do for a gift.  You can choose to make it or not.  I am trying to do them all.  LOL!!!  I need to retire from working so I have more time to quilt.  That is my dream!

My friend Roz and I made our reservations to go to Lancaster, PA for 5 nights, 6 days to the National Quilt Show.  We signed up for 5 different classes to take while there.  We will be staying in a very nice Marriott hotel right in the convention center.  Cannot wait for March. 2012!

Our East End Quilt Buddies is having our 2nd annual quilt retreat at Pat's Retreat House in October!  Just a few weeks away.  Really looking forward to this trip.  Our friend Vicki is going to be coming home just for our weekend!  We all miss her terribly.

That's it for now!

What a week!

Lordy this has been the longest week....my Mom was admitted to the hospital last Wednesday with a UTI and a stone that is in her main bile duct coming from her liver.  This could be a very, very serious situation if things begin to change and it backs up in her system.  The plan is to do the procedure tomorrow to remove the stone and then follow up with a gall bladder removal withing a day or two after.  She is 83 yrs. old and has heart and diabetes issues as well.  She is scared and quite frankly I am a bit worried for her as well.  Can she withstand the anesthesia for that long for the surgeries?  What do we do once she comes home?  We all work and cannot be home with her.  I have taken three days without pay already to be at the hospital with her...can't keep doing that!  This is sooo hard.  My one sister has just recently gotten custody of her two very young grandchildren so she is unavailable to sit at the hospital with Mom for a shift and my younger sister will visit, but only for an hour or so because she has a busy life.  My brother is too darn busy with his fishing tournament this week....so that leaves me to sit at the hospital for 10 hours a day to deal with the docs and all.  I am exhausted!  Enough complaining....

I got a lot of sewing done in the weeks prior to all of this.  I made 14 aprons for gifts and donation to the church fair.  I made a set of three cosmetic bags for a gift, finished my block of the months, and made two quilts for two of my son-in-laws for Christmas.  Thank God for my quilting and sewing...it keeps me sane!

I am going off to get some lunch and then off to the hospital to spend a few hours with Mom.

Friday! TGIF!

Wow, I am glad this week is ending.  It has been a long one for me.  My three daughters have not been getting along lately and it is causing me great heartache.  I sure don't remember ever having these kind of disagreements with my two sisters.  If we got hurt or angry by or with each other we just said our peace and got it done with.  My three don't do that with each other.  They talk about each other to me and to each other, but never confront the issue at hand.  I try very hard to not engage in conversations where one of my daughters is talking badly about her sister.  They don't seem to get the fact that it is painful for me to hear that they "love her, but don't like her" nonsense.  I keep telling them "if you are angry at your sister ...tell your sister....clear the air and move on", but stop putting me in the middle like this.  They take it as I am defending their sisters actions rather than just trying to stay out of it.  Now one of my girls isn't speaking to me and said some very hurtful things to me.  I am sure it will blow over, but is painful nonetheless. 

Thank God for my quilting!  It has gotten me through the painful week.  Each night I go upstairs and do a little sewing to keep me occupied and not focusing on the whole thing with my daughters.  I am working on a flannel quilt for my son-in-law, Jim.  He is one who truly appreciates each and every quilt that I make.  I have made three quilts for my girls for christmas and they are all at the quilters being quilted.  I am making aprons for all the women in my family and some extras for the church holiday fair.  I have joined a "Gifty Galore" group online and each week they pick a project for the week.  It is fun throwing together small gift items to see if they are something I want to keep or make more of for gifts.  So far I have made one "shop hop" purse/bag.  It is 4 x 6 in size and has credit card/license slots in it and room for a wallet and keys.  Perfect for the shop hopping day!  I have most of the supplies for some sachets they made and need some interfacing for some cosmetic bags I am going to do as well.  This week they chose a holiday pillow.  I have all that I need to do that project already so I will do that this weekend.  It is fun as they are all quick and easy projects and are making me do things I don't normally do...like zippers. 

I am off to our Friday night Sit n Sew tonight.  I am bring with me 8 already cut out aprons to put together.  It is a reversible apron and very quick and easy to make.  One of the women in our block of the month group had me and a friend over to her home and showed us how to make it.  Once I have completed these 8 I will have 16 all together to give as gifts and use for the church fair.  Of course I plan on keeping at least one for me!  It is going to be hard to chose just one though...they are all different!

Well that is it for today....God bless.

Heat Wave

Here it is mid July and we are having a heat wave....96 degrees today so far and will probably reach 100 by the end of the day.  It has been a hectic couple of weeks.  My hubby had been having really bad abdominal pain now for almost a year.  His doctors were sending him from doctor to doctor to rule out other things before deciding on the gall bladder.  I always knew it was gall bladder....of course who listens to me????  He finally had his surgery on Monday the 18th and is home recuperating.  He is feeling a bit better today and of couse, being a man, he decided to do a few things.  I hope he isn't overdoing it.  Why can't men just follow doctor's instructions and not do anything they aren't supposed to?

My hubby's step father passed away on Saturday the 15th of July.  No great loss.  He was a mean man who made everyone miserable and when my hubby was a child he would beat him terribly when he misbehaved or did anything wrong.  When I say beat him I mean like with a broomstick.  He just wasn't a nice man at all.  I think his Mom was actually relieved although she would never admit it.

I have been doing lots of sewing.  I made up six aprons to be used as gifts for Christmas this year and plan on making several more.  I am working on a shadow box quilt with winter scenes of kids playing in the snow and another project with a group of ladies that is a dresden plate quilt exchange.  I have so many finished tops that need to be quilted that I have lost count.  I really need to email Sue and learn how to use that long arm of hers.  It will be worth all the cost of the lessons to be able to do my own quilts.

I think tonight I will spend some time working on a couple of Sylvia's Bridal blocks.  I haven't touched them in a while. 

Sure wish I was in Alaska or somewhere like it right now...................