Work

Well, I worked for four days. I mean I WORKED for four days. I am still an occasional part-time person at a clinic near here, and they needed a person, and asked me to fill in. I am so over working!! I believe I have found my niche in life--finally--and it's being retired, sewing, baking breads, cooking, spending time with grandchildren, WHATEVER I WANT. However, on the other hand (and, of course, there's always another hand) my new interests involve the purchase of consumables. Now that means that we have a problem, Houston. Bobby's hobbies were really expensive to set up (ham radio), but largely, he gets on famously on what he already has purchased. Me, well, that's where the consumable part comes in. I buy, I use, I need more, I buy, I use, etc. You see the problem. So, the smallish allowances we "allow" ourselves, is great for Bobby, he can save up a few months and have a great sum, but I keep running out of "stuff" and need more. hmmm... So, the working thing will be wonderful in a week or so when the money hits my checking account! But not so much while I was doing it. I have a plan to substitute teach this coming school year to feed my many and varied addictions. bummer...

Tempus Fugit

Indeed! My little Scott would have been 40 today. Man I'm old...

T-shirt Quilt

Amy asked me to post this t-shirt quilt I made. I attended a class offered by our local quilt shop teaching how to make a t-shirt quilt. I was intrigued by the idea so went to the class.

Bobby wasn't too keen on the idea of cutting up his t-shirts so I just used mine and pieced a quilt to fit the twin- and full-sized mattresses upstairs in our "hotel".

When I got home and showed him what I had done, he liked it so well, he asked me to make it for our bed (which it did not fit--we sleep on a queen-sized bed).

At that point he was all for cutting up some of his t-shirts and doing it up right. So that's what I did, with the results above.

Alisa will recognize the sashing pieces from her quilt. Amy might recognize the bottom row of sashing from the lining of our quilt bags. The border and backing were purchased specifically for this quilt.

One interesting thing about this quilt is that instead of a batting, the instructions called for fusible fleece (who knew there was such a thing?), so that's what I used. It was very easy to use and required one less layer to manage, and I plan to use that method in the future.

I am looking forward to Amy and her boys being here in July--in fact I can hardly wait! We plan to take a class on the use of our new sergers, and hopefully some other terrific things we might think of.

That's all I know for now...

GREAT Weekend!!

I attended Alisa's (cum laude) high school graduation, saw my Kare-bear, my boys from St. Louis, Dylan and Jeremy, as well as three daughters and a son and his little daughter, my Calysta! It was a wonderful weekend. The other person I saw was this little tiny very precious and darling angel!!!

And here's information for all those doting grandmothers out there: In case you were wondering, the great grandbaby is as precious, wonderful, darling and lovable as the grandbabies! --and why not, they're the babies of your equally wonderful, etc. grandchildren.

Newest Toy--new Janome serger

Honestly, I can't think of anything I don't have--that I wanted. Best news: Amy is coming this summer and bringing her serger. We're going to take a class and see what we can do together with them. I'm pretty excited to learn how to operate this very complicated machine. Who else has one? What can you tell me about them? Help!!

Avery

I can't think of anything more fun than spending time with a new member of my family. My (only) great grandchild Avery is a winner!!

Calysta's Quilt

Well, I finished it! As you can see, it's has a checkerboard pattern on the back, and the alternating diamonds on the front. As I believe I said before, Calysta assisted me in picking out the fabrics and color scheme.

A Word about Monsters...

Calysta has spent yesterday and most of today at our home with Mark; Christy is here, too. Today Calysta decided she needed to have a clean work surface as her desk gets pretty "crowded".

She worked on it for about an hour--maybe more. It was quite a long time, especially for such a little girl.

Later Mark and she went out for a while. We noticed the note after they left. It was the highest point in our week, for sure.

Note the exclamation points: they're hearts and the dots below are tiny hearts!!

A little while ago, I need some Scotch tape and there it lay, on her desk. Well, I braved the danger and borrowed it--I think I got away with it because I haven't seen any monsters yet.

When I replaced it, you can be sure I put it back right where she had it...

Something new

I'm making a checkerboard-type quilt for Calysta. It will be composed of alternating squares of these two blocks. The backing will be checkered black and white--the same fabric as the borders of each block. I took her to the store and let her pick out her colors. Her two new favorite colors are black and white--then red and blue. I just completed a T-shirt quilt top and as soon as it is quilted, I'll show that, too. It has the fronts (and some backs) of T-shirts that we have obtained over the time we've known each other (Bobby and I). later...

Interests, Hobbies, Fads, Obsessions...

So, I don't know what I am developing, but I am gaining great interest in a few things: quilt-making, cooking, breadmaking to name a few. These are things I enjoyed in my previous life BW (before work). In my new life PW (post-work, of course--keep up, please), I am returning to things I have always loved. I have taken the opportunity to ponder cooking and my relationship to it. For a reason I think I understand, I have always been reluctant to admit that I enjoyed--maybe even loved--preparing food. The reason, I think, is that my mother hated to cook--and she was really verbal about that, as I'm sure you all remember. Somehow it seemed as though I was not permitted to love something that my own mother hated. I realize that's wrong-thinking and maybe a little stupid, but there it is. Since living a few months PW I realize that since I have the time, I really love watching cooking shows, poring through cookbooks and www.foodnetwork.com recipes as well as others. I have chosen to do this. Bobby says between me and the food network he'll soon lose his feet--there could be worse things I guess--I could have studied famous bank robberies and formed a gang; I could have decided to do "street work"; I could have taken up interior decorating (he would have REALLY hated that, because it's a very expensive hobby). But, no, I was drawn to cooking, breadmaking and quilts. My grandmother Amy Brown made Bobby (my little brother, not my husband, of course--please keep up!) a quilt pieced of 1" squares!! I remember this quilt, and he wouldn't allow me to put it on my bed. I loved that quilt, too. Her sister (what was her name?) made a quilt top for me--hand-pieced it, too--that I quilted many years ago and it has long since worn out. I remember going to Relief Society work meetings and watching the sisters sitting at the quilt frames working. When I was really small, we played under the quilts--it was like playing in a fort--but after I got a little bigger--maybe around 10--they began to teach me how to quilt, too. I really loved that. So, I guess I have been doing this for many years. As my children were growing up, I made a few quilts, but they were utilitarian and made because we were living in the Rocky Mountains, and it was COLD. Although, I have to say, I enjoyed the process. Some of those quilts are still living, I think. So, that's what I'm doing now. Amy encouraged me to join my local quilting groups, and I did that. I have enrolled in a few groups, including the Norman Area Quilters' Guild. I am loving this. Have a great day, all. We have blowing snow outside today the first day of Spring!! I'm hibernating, making bread, preparing a supper dish for a neighbor who had surgery yesterday, and cutting out pieces for my Mystery Quilt group in two weeks. So, I'm having a good, quiet and productive day.