My Daddy

My father was a pilot in WWII. He was a member of the Army Air Corps which became the Air Force. He fought in the South Pacific. He was stationed in New Guinea. Obviously he survived the war or I would not be here. He was a hero in my book.

















Daddy never talked much about his war experiences. Once maybe 20 years ago a man that he was in service with was traveling across the country and he stopped by to see us. My Daddy died in 1993 and I miss him to this day. So in honor of Memorial Day I am posting this picture of him in his plane. We should all take time today and think of all the military men and women that have served our country.

Planting

Back in March we planted some seeds and put them in our kitchen window. My grandson faithfully watered them and watched them. Sometimes watering them too faithfully but luckily some survived the enthusiasm of a 2 year old. Today we planted his pumpkins and marigolds in the yard.














I have a very shady yard, lots of huge pine trees. Last spring I dug out an area between two pines and made myself a sunny plot. I put some of my beloved daylilies there and a couple of hydrangeas. That is where we decided to put our pumpkins!















Oh look at the poison ivy right there beside the pine tree! Lets not get close to that.















Digging and watering, care to guess who got soaked! His clothes are in the dryer right this minute. Does anyone know the name of that plant on the right? A friend gave me a clump last spring and they came back bigger than ever this spring.













We could not resist the beautiful purple petunias at Lowes, they were on sale too! They will look great next to my orange daylilies. I also got one of those beautiful old fashion roses. They are so pretty this year, I see them blooming everywhere.















And that meant more watering!















It is hard to stay inside on beautiful days like today. I want to sew and I want to be outside! Such a hard decision. I have several projects running through my head. I have to finish the baby quilt for my neighbor. I would like to do some placemats with some wild fabric I bought last fall. I was thinking coordinating solid squares on one side and the wild fabric on the other. I would also like to do some beach houses. My son suggested that and it is a very intriguing idea. We love the beach and that would be so fun to do. So many ideas!

Talented and Cute

Some days I manage to get both grandsons to take naps at the same time. Doesn't always happen but sometimes. I am usually so tired at that point I don't get to sew anything. Here is the baby "resting" on his brothers quilt. This is one of the first quilts I made, almost 3 years ago. I didn't do the quilting and I wish I had.

















My older grandson gave me this picture for mothers day. Isn't he talented? A budding artist! I love the little hand prints. What should I do with it? I was thinking pillow but it might get dirty. What about walling hanging?


















Both boys watching Hanny Manny with one of their great grandmother's quilts in the background.

















Life is moving on along. I am trying to work in my yard and to sew along with everything else. When I have extra time I am torn about what to do, go outside or work inside. My mother is doing great. She is doing better than I ever thought. Isn't life interesting? Just when you think you are at the lowest point a unexpected angel comes along.

China

My baby is going to China for two weeks with some other students from Kenan Flagler B-school. Follow her adventures.

Piddling

So where have I been? who knows, I sure don't. It takes a lot of energy to look after two grandchildren but it sure is fun. My mother is getting along very well. I have had an angel drop right out of the blue to help us. My uncle that died recently had been at home with help for almost 5 years. The woman that looked after him contacted me about helping us. I was so surprised but so relieved. She is absolutely wonderful. She helps me with so many details and my mother is thriving with her there.

I haven't done much sewing. I did make some pillows for the beach to match our new sofa and love seat. After 25 years we thought it was time to do some updating.















My son or his wife usually pick the boys up about 4 so I sometimes have a little while to get up in my sewing room if I am not totally worn out. I don't have any direction at the moment. I really like to have a project to work on that really energizes me. It is very relaxing to just piddle a bit. I made a few houses. These were made from my scrap bag.












I really like this one, do you see the monkey?












When I can't focus on anything else I try to put scraps together into little squares. I find concentrating on figuring out what to put where takes my mind off of the hectic life I am living right now. It won't be this way forever. I am not one that loves a lot of activity. I would be very happy to stay home and piddle and put together scrap squares for days on end.













And of course there are always liberated stars to make.














I will have some time this summer. My daughter in law is taking the boys to her parents for 2 weeks.

What do you do to motivate yourself? HELP give me some suggestions.

Bloggers Quilt Festival

I knew that this was the quilt I wanted to show for the Quilt Festival. I love this quilt. I made it for my son and his wife as a wedding gift. It was hand quilted by a lady who comes from a long line of quilters. She and her sisters have quilted all their lives. They sit around a quilt frame during the winter and quilt and visit.

I showed my son and his wife Gwen and Freddies first collaborative book and they loved the colorful quilts. I said to myself I can do it. And with a lot of experimentation I think I did pretty good. I loved making the houses. I tried to put something personal in each and every house. A bit of fabric from a beloved garment or a piece of novelty fabric with something they were interested in.

The houses in the middle represent their house in different seasons,


























While doing this quilt I began to think of myself as a possibly being an artist. I read today what Jacquie said about being an artist. I never never thought of myself as artistic at all, in fact I would say artistically challenged. I was a math teacher for heavens sake!! But after this quilt I began to think differently. Maybe there is some buried artist in me trying to get out!! I don't ever want to stop learning or creating.

Free Whales

This is my grandson's whale quilt. I have shared part of it but now the quilt top is finished. Nana has to put it together with the batting and decide how to quilt it.
The whales are swimming on the surface and the other things are at the bottom of the ocean. I of course used Tonya's letters for his name. Gwen has a section in her book on Liberated Pictorial quilts and I would say this is one. It is all free pieced with no templates at all.























This is the bottom of the quilt. My husband was watching the end of Law and Order and would not hold it up high enough. I used Gwen's square in a square technique. I really like using different shades of the same solid. To me it adds interest.



















Our young neighbor who is also our pharmacist is having a baby in June and I wanted to make her something very special. I found this fabric at Walmart. I cut out the nursery rhyme figures and once again did square in a square. I used yellow and white fabric. I haven't cut the blocks yet but I am going to turn them a bit when I cut them.



























It feels really good to be sewing again. I would love to get out in my yard if it would ever stop raining.