Family Picnic

The kids have gone home, another family picnic among the memories filed away this summer to bring out and enjoy during the winter while the rain is falling and snow is promised.

A beautiful day, the sun beamed down on us and the wind stayed calm.

Lots of great food, BBQ'd oysters, salmon, ribs as well as burgers and hotdogs. More salads than you could count, plates and plates of lumpia. For those who don't know what lumpia are, they resemble egg rolls or taquitas and are super tasty. My SIL brings them every year and spends hours in the kitchen frying well over 300 of them up.

Vollyball on the beach with plenty of laughter and even a mooning by the pranksters in the family. Fireworks to watch as we sat around the bon fire toasting up marshmellows for Smoores.

We arrived to find my sister doing a lively ticket sales most of which were to my family. My cousin didn't buy a one and spent the whole day sitting on the deck with her sister and some of their kids. When I went to snap a picture as I keep an album of each years picnic she turned her back on me. Toooo bad she chose to be so childish. We all had a great time.

My DH brought out his "fart machine" and would set it down behind this or that person. Everyone wanted to have their turn and chose their victims.....I laughed till I cried.

As the day wound down and the sun began to lower in the sky my mom drew the winning ticket.


And the winner is..........
My brother Rick and his wife. While this wasn't the original raffle quilt it worked out quite nicely as they had just redecorated their bedroom in a blue theme.

Blogger isn't being nice to me today and wanted to eat all my pictures. I'll share some of my family with you later.

Busy Day

This morning after coffee I got a bug and did busy work stuff that really needs doing but something I put off until I absolutely have to get it done. I'm good at procrastinating and waiting till the last moment.

Before it got sunny, I weeded my little garden and found there's not much of a garden there. The slugs have been busy chewing every little leaf off my beans so I now have stems where beans should be. The weeds were higher than the short rows of corn which was no where near knee high by the 4th of July. Can remember my DAD saying that very thing. My tomatoes are scraggly and if they actually produce anything I will be surprized. The potatoes have come up on their own and seem to be doing the best of anything. I'm not much of a garden person this year.

After the weeds went to their demise, I washed both my truck and car, then straightened and swept out the garage. Bye the time I finished those chores it was time to head over towards my sisters. A stop at both Home Depot and Walmart to do returns and I was on my way.

A bit of chatting and then it was time to load the plan B quilt for our raffle on her handiquilter. I felt like an extra shoe just standing around while both my sis and niece did the actual quilting. 5 hours later it was done and only needing a binding which I will do tomorrow evening.

Gratitudes

That I am developing a better relationship with this sister.

The closeness I've developed via the net with my GD.

Age has given me wisdom, patience and understanding.

Comments

Quiltpixie....The hexagon is my temporary wall (it excapes me at the moment), a table topper I'm using to see how the compass is looking to the eye. It's a thought, hmmm a hexagon instead of the usual circle.

KCquilter....The pattern for the quilt in my June 26 blog is "Shakespeare in the Park" one of Judy Martins spetacular designs. It was in the QNM some time ago and I have it around here somewhere. Give me a couple weeks and I'll look for it for you. You're welcome to the magazine or if you want the book you can order it on her website www.judymartin.com It's basically just two blocks....snails trail and Virginia Reel (?) seniour moment here.




I spent today with the compass, playing with this next round. Started out with an orange point (lower left) and decided I didin't really like how it looked with the green points. Another green and I like this effect much better, more subtle and doesn't take away from the main compass points. Drats....I ran out of the fabric I was using in the current round...geeeze I should have known 1FQ wasn't going to do it. I'm also noticing some of the points in the outer ring aren't'showing up on the photo in the dark fabric while they do show in the real life mode. I think I'm going to be froggy stitching a lot on this one...those points will have to be changed to brighter colors and this is paper piecing. AAAAAck.

A LOL....my cousin finally showed up with the raffle quilt she was to put a 7" applique border (2 birds per side, a few flowers, a vine and some leaves) on with her two sisters 7 months ago. Hmmmm.....we have a alternate in the wings, the reunion is next Saturday, what did she think...I could hand quilt this in 7 days. not to mention adding the final borders......Super quilter I am not..My sister said it turned out rather nice and kinda pretty but needs handquilted so guess what I get to do this winter.

Gratitudes

Another day spent sewing.

Ice cold Beer on a hot day.

Listening to the birds sing.

Not finding kitty presents on the carpet.

I've finally gone and done it, started the Mariner's Compass. It felt good to get back to the machine again after such a long dry spell.

I know I should have grabbed the pattern I drafted, picked my colors and colored them in, but here I am once again choosing from the batiks specially purchased for this quilt without a plan of any sort. So far I like what's happening. My compass will have 8 points instead of the 7 in the photo and end up with 64 total. I haven't made up my mind what I will do with the center, maybe another smaller compass or ?????

It's been a busy time since I last updated my blog. My kids will be here in another 5 days and John will get off the ship for his vacation next Thursday. The house is ready, the shopping almost done. Snacks and things for GGD. Just last minute things to do, mow the lawn, and set up the studio bed.

I spent the 4th with my Sis and Bil. Had a great time hanging out with them, lots of good BBQ and the most spetacular fireworks display. They live out on a spit so have the bay on one side and the shipping lanes on the other side of their home. As it started to get dark we built a huge bon fire and all up and down the beach people were setting off fireworks. We could look across the bay at town for those and somebody towed a barge out on the beach side for their display. When I left after midnight fireworks were still blazing in the sky. A good day inspite of getting to close to that bon fire and catching my shoe on fire.

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's "Gratitudes" and think it's such a good idea to post them with each update.

Gratitudes

Seeing a fawn in the backyard again this morning.

A day spent with my sister and Bil.

Time spent in the sewing room today.

Catching on fire and only burning up a tenny instead of me.

A phone call tonight from John.

My new lawn swing where I can spend hours reading.

View from the Deck

Seeing mama deer with her little fawn brought me right out of the blue funk my morning was turning into after finding yet another present one of the Cats had left me on the carpet.

My day was fast going to the toilet, my fuse short, but when I saw Mama and baby, I ran to the fridge, cut up an apple, grabbed the camera and out to the deck I went. My mood instantly disappeared and the whole day looked brighter.

Wedding and the Quilt

The bride was beautiful, the groom nervous, the attendants wore flip flops. This was without a doubt the strangest wedding I've ever attended. Maybe the younger generation or the fact the wedding was held in a park beside the Sacramento River had something to do with it.

DH and I arrived a good hour before the ceremony to find my son, the father of the groom holding down the fort watching over the area. We chatted while wedding guests arrived in very cool casual apparel, not what I would have expected for a wedding. Shorts, jeans, flip flops you name it. I dressed as my generation would. By the time it hit a good 95 degrees, I finally trotted over to the car, stripped off my nylons and got comfortable. Nobody introduced either my DH or me to any of the brides family or other guests. I felt like a tourist at my grandsons wedding. The only people I knew were my EX, his wife, his father, his sister and his neice.

After the ceremony the photographer had the whole wedding party/family sans me or my DH running all over the park taking pictures for the better part of 2 hours, leaving me trying to catch a few for myself. We finally left and headed back to the motel and pool.




My eldest son Jerry and his family.












My 3 Grandsons and Me. Kody is 6'7" and his mom cut the top of his head off the picture. Fine boys.







Mike, father of the groom and my GGD Reese one of three flower girls. And yes that is a Mohawk haircut per the Brides request.

The quilt is almost finished, just 3 sides to stitch down the binding. The LAer called the day I got back from the wedding to tell me it was finished.

Close up of quilting pattern. I had it quilted in a varagated blue thread.

My GD will be here mid July for our family picnic and will take it back to her brother and SIL.

It's been a week since I got back home and I still feel insulted. Would you believe my DIL called "thank you for coming to my son's wedding, I appreciated it" as if I were just another guest on the list and not his grandmother. Yes it was the bride and groom's day but there's no excuse for lack of courtesy on the part of my Son and DIL and I let them know how my feelings were hurt.

No stitching here

I've not been stitching since the wedding quilt went to the LAer. Been too busy trying to control the yard and lot. I spent 7 hours on Sunday manning the weed eater and lawn mower. Why anybody would want an electric mower to trip over the cord constantly is beyond me...but....DH decided we ... did he really mean we as he very seldom is ever home when the grass is butt high and needing to be mowed, but electric mower we got and I cuss it out everytime the grass needs mowing. To my way of thinking a goat woud be a better investment. The grass is down, the lawn and lot looks good. Also grabbed up a paint brush and coated the propane surround a lovely shade of green. One less "honey do" project for his time off the ship. I've got a 5' rattan giraffe sitting by the garage to park in the lot. It will be a fun piece with a trailing plant. My friend got tired of it sitting on her deck so it moved over here. I wonder what my deer friends will think of it. Will they see it as a funny looking deer or...."VBG".

Tomorrow is laundry day getting all my hot weather duds ready for my trip to Redding CA for GS's wedding. I'm getting anxious and wanting to leave. Why is it we plan for a trip and the last few days take weeks to pass? I'm so looking forward to seeing my two eldest sons, their families and my precious GGD.

The wedding will be held outdoors in the park and I finally after much aggitation now have something to wear. I shopped till I almost dropped and managed to get myself in a very bad mood not finding a thing to wear. Everything in the stores, from Macy's to Walmart have something funky for the teeny boppers or something for the very, very aged. Not to be insulting here, but I'm just not ready for either of those age groups and where the heck are the inbetween clothing. My good friend came to the rescue with a long linen skirt she was never able to wear, too big and too long which fits me fine. A purchase of tank top, a pair of sandles and I'm now ready to appear in something other than my favorite Levis and T-shirt. And yes, I really would have dressed that casual. I'm not the ruffles and fluff type person and feel so uncomfortable in something other than my favorite pair of levis and a t-shirt.

The Kats willl be in good hands while I'm gone. My friend has been coming over every morning to give Lady her insulin shot, she feels comfortable with it as I feel comfortable leaving Lady in her care. The Vet has been notified should any problem arise my friend can take her in. I'm monitoring her Blood Sugar like a good mom should to make sure her levels remain good while my friend gives her injection.

When I return it's time to start on the Mariners Compass for GD's wedding come fall time. I want to hand quilt this one so an early start is in order.

Each morning as I wake to the birds singing I am grateful

I have another day on this here earth.
For my dear friend Rexene, who came to my rescue yet again.
For each time I look out at my back yard habitat and see yet another new bird
For the deer who frequent my yard looking for handouts.
For my 91 year old MOM's continued good heath.
For my DH who treats me like a queen and has always been the sun in my sky.
For all my friends here at Mavericks.
.

Happy Birthday Reese

I can't believe my GGD is 6 years old already. It seems like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms, a teeny tiny little bundle of joy.

Family

When I moved back to my home town after being gone for 30 years where the wind blew me, I thought my cousin was my best friend, like a sister as well as family. We were close to the same age and had a history of sorts. I thought I could confide in her during all the ups and downs in my life which were many. I no longer thought of the things she'd done to me in the past, they were old business, nothing to linger over, what was done was done. We shopped, had lunch, spent hours at each others homes. I dropped everything and was at her side the night her husband passed away. I gave comfort, support and let her know I would be there if she needed me. We were family. When her brother passed away three months later I was there. She was mean to me and her sister-in-law but I chalked it up to loss of her brother.

I've learned a lesson during these past 6 months. While my cousin is family she certainly isn't my friend or sister and anything I confided to her in the years since I've been home has been gossiped around. I've heard she's "always hated me". For what I don't know, I've never said a bad thing about her other than she gets more like her mother everyday. Her mother, my Auntie, my Mom's sister wasn't a very nice person. Maybe she recognizes herself.

I have 6 siblings, 5 sisters and 2 brothers. We all don't get along all the time. This is normal for a family this size. We have our ups and downs. This family reunion and raffle quilt has changed how I think about my siblings. During all this upheaval over this quilt I have come to realize, my cousin while she might be family isn't my friend or my sister. My sisters will stand beside me, present a united front and know me for who I am. They will be there if I need them, all I have to do is call.

In all my years of traveling, I never thought much about family. I traveled the road that took us from here to there always on my own agenda. When my Dad passed away, home was forgotten. I came home for the occasional wedding, funeral or vacation. Home wasn't on my horizon, home was where I happened to be. I've grown up, gotten older and have realized that home is everything for without family what are we. Family is everything.

Hide and Seek

Going through some pictures the other day for DH, I found this one of a challenge small quilt I had made. The requirments didn't seem difficult at first thought until I wondered what I could do with shades of black and white that had to be 75% of the small quilt we were to make. Only one other color could be used. Hiding in the far corner of my sewing room was one of those "What was I thinking" pieces of fabric. A mother board in shades of black and white. With toungue in cheek, I marked it, added some bright green eyes, black nose and started quilting. On the day it was to be turned in, I handed it over knowing it wouldn't be received very well. It was different, not a block or applique to be seen, just those two bright green eyes, black nose, quilting and questions of what's it supposed to be. Much to my amazement a friend wanted it and asked to trade her entry for it. I did and she later told me she promptly hung it in her hallway and everytime she passed the kitty she could feel those eyes. This challenge was something for me to play with and I had fun doing it.

What a great time I had with you all catching up on everyone's blogs for the month of May, traveling to places I'll never go in a lifetime, visiting beautiful backyards, spending time with you at quilt shows, classes and quilt market. Going to graduations, birthday parties. and family doings. Seeing all your beautiful, gorgeous quilts, new as well as antique.

Lauri Ann in answer to your question. "Shakespeare in the Park" is the name of the pattern and it's from "The Creative Pattern Book" by Judy Martin http://www.judymartin.com

Finally Finished

Shakespeare is finally finished and at the LAer for quilting. Much to my disappointment she's booked up and won't be able to have it finished until the end of June, 2 weeks after the wedding. I'll print a picture to include in their wedding card along with a small gift from their registry. They won't mind as Redding, CA in the summer is too hot for a quilt on the bed anyway. The picture isn't very good as my holders were both barely 5 ft tall and standing up on the picnic table didn't help at all. I'm pleased with how it turned out with all the blues and greens. The backing I chose is a light turquoise with white and will be quilted with a light variegated blue.


I've ordered Judy Mathieson's newest Mariner's Compass book for my Granddaughters wedding quilt due in October. I had planned on doing another Shakespeare for her and asked her if she wanted the same pattern or something different. She said "something different and please pick it out". Both of them like the water and her fiancee' has a sailboat so I think a Mariner's Compass will be appropriate for them. Another challege as I've never attempted a Mariner's Compass and want to design something special for them.

I've been busy this past couple weeks between rain showers re-doing my deck and patio furniture. Have sanded and stained the picnic table/benches and am working on sanding down the deck for staining and am getting ready to dig up the back lawn to replace with patio stones as I'm so tired of mowing the grass full of moss. It's going to be a busy spring and summer of yard work as I've let it go to many years in a row.

My sister came out and helped me paint our den a week ago. What a difference it has made to the room, so clean and fresh looking with all the clutter off the walls and out of there. Even DH was pleased with the results. I've kept one of my Mom's paintings and the rest will go to my kids and gkids as they have all asked her for one. The antique china doll I found at my MIL's I gifted to my GF's mom who collects them. DH wasn't interested in keeping it and I saw no reason to pass it on to my children. She was pleased as punch with it as it had all it's original clothing intact. Sometimes it just feels good to give pleasure to someone you care about.

Good news for Lady, my kitty. Friday she goes in for a blood test to see what her sugar has been doing. I recently purchased a monitor so I could keep up with her BS's. With the Vet's help I have been decreasing her insulin and her diabetes seems to be in remission as her tests remain the same while I've been decreasing the amount of insulin I give her. My good friend has been coming over in the morning to do her shot so I will be able to go out of town and not have to board her at the Vet's. A very special friend indeed.

Happy Mother's Day

59 Stars "N" Trails

and growing. I've been working in my yard and the lot so haven't been stitching the past couple weeks. Was good to get back to the machine and finish 15 of the remaining 17 blocks today. The temporary wall got to small to hang all these blocks and my living room floor space can't quite hold them either. I've not set it in stone as each time I lay it out I tweek it a bit more. I'm finally seeing some light at the end of this long tunnel. Tomorrow I can finish the last two big blocks, lay them out for the last time and stitch rows together. I'm thankful my Grandson lives in CA where it is HOT during the summer as it's going to take some time to hand quilt this monster. Thank you everyone for all the lovely comments.



I no sooner picked up all the blocks, went for a cold drink when "Lady" claimed them for herself and settled in for a snooze. LOL


I learned a valuable lesson this past week. If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it. Last summer I decided the tension on my machine needed a good cleaning. Armed with directions I disasembled it down to nuts and bolts. Getting it back together wasn't easy and I could never get it adjusted properly so fought with it being either too loose or two tight....puckers in everything I stitched. Nothing I tried worked and finally last week called my OSMG to rescue me and the SM. After an hour of working, he packed it up and off he went. Three days later, he returned, machine under his arm all repaired, serviced and shining, installed it back in it's cabinet, sat me down and what a difference. Stitching is again pleasureable. My SM is a seniour citizen, a Chevy to the Cadillac's of today, a trusy old workhorse that will last a lifetime if taken care of properly. Don, my OSMG is a delight, he's 80 if he's a day, was a pilot during WWII. Retired after owning a Singer shop for 50 years and built a 800 sq ft shop to house the remenants of his business as well as 50+ antique SM's. He does house calls and if he can repair your machine without taking it back to the shop he does. His fee's are reasonable, lives down the street from me, does pick up and delivery for free. I hope he never retires.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Sunday. Hope your holiday was spent enjoying your family get togethers. Mine was spent working on these goofy stars and trails.
I finally rigged up a temporary design wall. Setting these blocks diagonally is way beyond my comfort zone. I'm used to straight up and down sets. Diagonal has taxed my brain each time I lay them down. Trying to figure a CA king from a twin size has been one big fat challenge. Should I make it 6 down, 6 across or ????? My cheat book says to do 5 and 5 with a 12" border to make 110 x 110. I don't need a border. What to do? What to do? How big is a CA King anyway?

I've been pulling the fabrics willy nilly out of the bin and am coming up with some pretty strange looking combinations. The over all effect isn't bad but it sure is scrappy. I hope my Grandson and his Fiance like it as much as his sister does. It's been so satisfying to get back at the machine and stitch away while listening to Toby Keith. It's been awhile.

John was to come home for a three day weekend. He hasn't been home in two weeks and now I don't know when I'll see him. He might be gone a week or three. He called saying the ship had to get underway. The under ocean telephone cable had a break somewhere down off the coast of Oregon. His ship had to go fish it out, repair or replace it, I don't know which but I'm alone this holiday weekend. A good time to stitch and catch up on the blogs. While I don't comment too often, I do read them daily.

Many thanks for all the suggestions of what to do with the Windmill Quilt. While I would love to pull it apart and redo that center, fabric paint the sky or even embelish it some, I'm afraid I would hurt my sister's feelings beyond thinking as she is very sensitive, doesn't like confrontations and cries easily. I'm sure my cousin ran right over her with her suggestions.

Grumble, Grumble

The other day since I had to drive right by my cousins to go to FedEx, I stopped by to see the progress on the family raffle quilt. The center had been finished and passed on to the cousins to add the applique border.



WHEW, what did they do to create this awful monstrosity. What started out as a pretty neat center medallion of a windmill against a field of green has now become a space capsule sitting on a field of stained glass. The Windmill fades into the sky, that sickening stained glass effect....my 5 yo GGD could have done better. What was my cousin who took it upon herself to decide a pale cheezy blue sky would look better with that horrible stained glass effect thinking? The green background was too dark, it wouldn't look good is what I heard. What I saw was a contestant for the Ugly Quilt Contest not a traditional quilt the family would cherish. I guess my cousin was coloring outside her lines. Maverick, I doubt it, ugly for sure. I'm a snob, I admit it, but would you as a traditional type want this one on your bed or hanging on your wall? I don't think so. For a family who's tastes run to GFG's, Log Cabins and co-ordinated fabrics, this one won't be getting any blue ribbons. I rue the day I said I would handquilt it...what's a person to do at this stage of the game? Mom offered to help with the applique, my cousin doesn't want her to touch it. She's old, her stitches aren't satisfactory. I agree, she's 91, she's almost blind, but that's not the point, it's a family project. The nieces, nephews, grandkids want a piece of something she's put her hand to and stitched. She's Mom, Gramma, Auntie and Great Auntie. She's the only one left and when she goes, there goes that generation of family. This yearly quilt isn't about my cousin. It's all about family, a generation at the end of her life. It's about my MOM and how loved she is. It's about passing on a heirloom, a time to look back on and take pause for reflection as we remember those family picnics and realize that we are now MOM. I doubt anyone will want to save and cherish this one as a family heirloom to be passed on to the generations to come.

Quilts, Turkeys and Tulips

Friday my good friend and I spent the day on our annual trip to the Tulip Fields of Skagit Valley, the La Conner Quilt Museum and ended the day meeting an internet friend at a quilt show.

La Conner Quilt Museum

In 1891 the Gaches family built the mansion as a family residence. Over the years it's been sold several times becoming a hospital and apartments. In 1973 a fire broke out and gutted the mansion. Wanting to preserve the mansion local citizens formed a non-profit org, purchasing the mansion in 1974 restoring it in 1978. In 1997 the La Conner Quilt museum opened in the mansion, has since acquired ownership, is the only quilt museum in the PNW and 1 of 12 in the US. The 1st floor retains it's turn of the century decor. The 2nd floor contains the museum exhibit and sales gallery. The 3rd floor includes additional display space for contemporary art quilts. The current exhibit of Hawaiian Quilts are quite stunning and the folded log Cabins interesting.

For the Cat lovers... while this looks very celtic it's actually reverse applique.

A Fireman by day, a Quilter by night. This gentleman's handquilting is so even with very small stitches. This one grabbed my attention as I love a red and black quilt.

The quilt on the bottom half of the page was inspired by the drawing made by her granddaughter.

We all ought to weigh in like this. LOL

Folded Log Cabin...I'm not much on log cabins. Each blocks center was a garment label and each block had a label as well.

From the quilt show.

I thought these were Maverics.

I laughed when I heard a lady refer to the one on the left as looking like uterus's. The name on the quilt was bikini .... , however to me I thought g-string. Concentric Triangles?????

There were the usual number of traditional, Baltimore album and wedding rings at the show. I used to take mega pictures, now they need to catch my attention.

Tom Turkey, what a handsome fella this was, guarding his band of ladies. As we walked down the street to the Quilt Musuem he favored us with puffing up and spreading his tail feathers. Not wild turkeys, just turkeys roaming free down the streets of town.

And I came home with 27 batik FQ's to go with the 12 in my stash for granddaughters wedding quilt.

Closer Look for Jane

Jane, it's a wall hanging from "Quilted Ledgends of the West" by Judy Zehner & Kim Mosher.

Spring Cleaning

I've been spring cleaning around here. It's amazing my furry friends aren't nekked for all the fur they've left behind, under and around the furniture. They seem to manufacture it, the more I brush, the more they produce. I hate my furniture, it's so stiff , it could catapult you across the room. Lady spends more time on it than I do. We never use this room, it reminds me of Gramma's parlor she only opened for special occassions. I spent yesterday shampooing the carpets, clearing out junk and arranging this clunky furniture into a cozy conversation area. The room looks like it's grown. Wonder what ever possessed me to pick this furniture. It's awful, it's clunky and not me.

The sewing machine moved back to the sewing room. It's on my list for a make over first of next week. Sewing is at a standstill until the make-over, I can hardly move in there for the clutter. I'll be happy when I can sit and stitch again. This spring cleaning has taken up a lot of time but necessary and feels so good to have such neat and tidy rooms again after the long winter.

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Is Lady spoiled or what? The quilt in the corner is our wedding quilt. Drab, muted colors but I love it just the same. Mom made it for us, she doesn't do so well anymore. Her stitches aren't as neat and tidy as once they were. Her eyesight is going, her hands are shakey, the fabrics are mismatched, but if she made another one today, I would love it just the same, she's my MOM.



Sharon, the black fabric probably started rotting long before the person who used it purchased it. It came from a close out sale when a "dime store" was getting rid of their fabric and it layed in a sunny window for who knows how long before the sale, a good start at disinegrating.
Tami, happy to give some inspiration to your round robin.

Being thankful....I don't think we express the many things we are thankful for enough or post our gratitudes as Joanne does. When I read her posts with her gratitudes I give pause to all the things I am thankful for. One of the things I am most thankful for is:

My 91 year old Mother's health and ability to enjoy life to the fullest. Her joy at getting up everyday with a smile on her face knowing she has one more day on this earth.

My Goals

To have a super time with John when he comes home this weekend.
To give my sewing room a make-over next week.

A Round Robin

I haven't felt much like sewing lately. I don't know what's the matter with me and grampa's ring is still amongst the missing which is very depressing.

Several years ago when our local quilt group didn't want to do a round robin 5 friends/family and I decided we would. We named ourselves the Supper Six and I never did determine whether it was "supper as in eating" or "super". We met once a month at one home or another for dinner and passed along our creations till the last round was finished. At the end of the six months we had dinner and an unveiling. Each gal went out of the room, the top was hung and we were called in one by one. I couldn't have been more excited if I had won the lottery. I love red and yella and mine certainly fit the bill. From the day I sent off my center square till the evening we had an unveiling we never knew what each of the group was doing. We chatted amongst ourselves, asking questions about how to do this or what do you think of that. The first round was added, it went to my cousin who's husband said it was "ruined". The yellow border with applique just didn't fit. My cousin added her round, another friend added Carolina Lilies and set it on point. My Mom who's favorite block, a log cabin and a finish with borders. It all came together when I added a pillow border across the top. Many hours of handquilting and I entered it the local fair. This quilt was exceptional, it needed to be shared never expecting it to win anything. Imagine my surprize when it won the best of quilt as well as a blue ribbon.

I've never used it on my bed. I have to mend it before I can. The black fabric in the second round is rotting away.

My Friend

I haven't made any new progress on the stars. John came home for the weekend, time flew out the winder and nothing more got accomplished.

I've lived here for nearly 15 years, the longest John and I have lived anywhere. We've been nomads making home where the Navy sent us until he retired. In all the years I've had one other close friend. If I moved away tomorrow, came back ten years later, we'd pick up like it was yesterday. Friends like this don't happen very often. She's an only child; I'm the sister she never had. We live across the road from each other. Over coffee we share the good times and the bad times. Her parents have adopted me.

A couple years ago she expressed a desire to learn to sew. I wasn't very encouraging. I thought she would loose interest, but we made a list, picked simple projects, shopped my stash for fabric and were off and running. It wasn't quilting but it was a start. Simple one piece fabric placemats, lines drawn, placemats were born. She took to the sewing machine like a duck to water. She's patient where I am not. Ripping out her mistakes is part of learning, she picks away with a smile on her face and when I make a mistake she picks mine out too. If a technique is to difficult for her, I help her out and we never tell. It's our secret. Come Christmas time, rag quilts and pillowcases, a step towards quilting. Next was getting over her fear of cutting off her fingers with the serger. Another demon conquered and pillowcases flew left and right. Today a new project for her mom's birthday. She doesn't have and would like some spring placemats....a new lesson, log cabins. A quilter is being born, slowly but surely.

Tomorrow will be a fun day taking my mom to her quilting group, having our hair twigged, lunch out and shopping for fabric. I can't think of a better way to spend the day. Happiness is having a friend like Rexene.