A great weekend

Our friends Jim & Susie (that's them over there on the left) recently purchased their retirement home on Lake Gaston at the NC/VA border. They aren't able to actually retire just yet, but now they know where they will go when they DO make that step. We joined them at the lake house for the holiday weekend together with John & June another couple we've known forever. (Here are John & June snuggling together while Jim looks on!)

Jerry, John & Jim served together on the the submarine USS Grant back in the late 1970's. Jim left the Navy shortly after that tour of duty while John & Jerry made it a career. Jerry for 20 years and John for 30.

Here's a view from the house into their cove. The boat house is hiding their ski boat and jet ski, but you can see the sailboat that Jim & Jerry took out for a spin one day. Everyone had a turn on the jet-ski and we had several nice tours of the lake in the boat. The lake is huge and we didn't see the entire thing, but it sure is beautiful.

We didn't spend all our time on the lake...we also put a significant dent into Jim & Susie's Tequila and Vodka supplies!

All in all we had a great weekend and we're hoping to get the opportunity to do it again (if they'll have us back!)
Photos are clickable for a larger view

My good deed for the day

Noah's school had a blood drive today. They sent home sign-up sheets a week or so ago and mentioned that one of the donors would win a trip to Disneyworld. I donate on a fairly regular basis (I'm close to my 2nd gallon) so I signed up. When I picked up Noah right after the donation the first thing he asked was "Did you win??" They haven't had the drawing yet so who knows...

I usually don't have any problems when I donate, but today, just as I was finishing, I started feeling lightheaded and queasy. They put cold compresses on my neck and forehead, got my feet elevated, and gave me some pretzels and told me to suck off the salt. I eventually perked up, but it was really strange.

When I drove Noah home tonight he started asking me some really deep questions about death. He wanted to know if everyone died and then asked "When you die Grandma will you remember me?" This from a 5 year old!

Another passing

Viriginia, one of my quilting friends, lost her husband last week and this morning was the funeral. She and Jim moved to South Carolina from Florida and didn't know anybody when they arrived. It's obvious that they made themselves members of the community quickly and there were many friends at the service. We almost could have held a quilt guild meeting there were so many guild members there. I enjoyed watching the Knights of Columbus honor guard and admiring their robes and hats.

The mass included the use of incense and with my huge sensitivity to fragrances, I was queasy by the end of the service and had to skip going to Virginia's house for the post funeral get together.

Virginia has been so strong this week and I hope her strength will get her through this difficult time.

Fabric Store mecca

Yesterday a group from my quilt guild went on a bus trip to Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia, NC, a suburb of Charlotte. We also made a stop at Longcreek Mills a funky little place with lots of thread at great prices. It was a good trip and I'm glad to say I was no where near the biggest spender.

Mary Jo's is the supermarket of fabric stores. Not only does it have an extensive section of quilting fabrics, but an equally impressive selection of decorator, bridal, and clothing fabrics. I think I probably left with the most diverse selection of fabrics. I bought some quilting cottons for a fractured quilt challenge I'm taking part in. I also bought some velveteen, silk dupioni and organza for the same challenge. I purchased some Ultrasuede for my journal quilt entry and some trims for another project. All in all, it was an enjoyable day spent with a fun group of fellow quilters.

If you're ever near Charlotte, it's well worth a stop at Mary Jo's!

Remembering old friends

I got a call today from someone I knew in High School. We don't typically keep in touch, although we have each other's contact info. Linda called me to inform me of the death of a mutual friend, Cheryll. Apparently Cheryll was diagnosed with brain cancer in March and went very quickly. We were great friends in school and I'm sorry we lost touch over the years.

If there is someone you've been thinking about, contact him/her before it's too late.

The Interview

Deb posted the answers to 5 interview questions that were asked of her and agreed to 'interview' anyone who wanted with 5 questions of her choosing. Rather than have her ask me questions, I'm going to answer the ones directed to her.

1. What do you miss most about where you were born?

Initially everyone probably thinks how can you miss anything about Detroit? - but they'd be surprised. Besides all the wonderful lakes around the city on which natives covet living, Detroit has the world's best hot fudge made by Sanders. I used to miss Vernors ginger ale as well, but can now get that here in South Carolina.


2. When did you really feel you’d grown up?

A couple of years ago we bought a bedroom set - bed, dressers, nightstands, the whole thing. We both said that we finally felt grown up with bedroom furniture that matched!

3. Tell us one of your best memories!

I'd have to say the birth of my son Craig and meeting my grandson Noah for the first time. Then, of course, there was our wedding, where we watched a fly crawl across the minister's cheek.

4. What scent or smell do you like best?
I can't tolerate scents at all anymore, so I'd have to say none.

5. When I say music, what pops to mind?

Oh, that's easy - MOTOWN! You can take the girl out of Detroit, but can't take the Detroit out of the girl!

New Look

I was tired of the old look of my blog and changed the template. I've lost a couple of things - links to two webrings and will have to search them out! Do you like the new look?

A dress for the baby

This is the dress I smocked for the baby which I gave to Chrystal today at the baby shower. It's been at least 20 years since I've done any smocking, but I think it turned out okay. I've already started another one! We joked today that after getting all those sweet little girl outfits, the baby will turn out to be a tomboy and refuse to wear any of them.

Computer Crash redux

When my computer crashed last month, Jerry was able to patch it back together. Well, the patch has failed and it crashed again. A new hard drive is on order, so I hope that will solve the problem.

I was down in Florida when it crashed. My mother recently fell and fractured her pelvis and isn't doing too well. I went down to help for a while and ended up helping her move into a rehab facility until she's feeling better. I'm not good with sick people so was more than happy to have the nurses take over. The facility she's in is nice enough, but the old people are REALLY old and most are infirm. I felt like I was a baby in comparison. I know she's hoping to be out of there soon.

Shower centerpiece

Next Saturday is the baby shower in anticipation of the arrival of our new granddaughter. Craig & Chrystal have decided to name her Hayden Elizabeth.

I saw the directions for a cute centerpiece in a recent magazine and thought I'd give it a try. The "buds" are created out of onesies and baby washcloths wrapped around dowels and secured with floral tape. They were kind of fun to make, although I did end up cutting into my index finger at one point. Had to be careful not to bleed on the flowers!

Craig's birthday

As hard as it is for me to believe, my baby is 34 years old today.

My brother insists that Craig's birthday should really be celebrated on April 10 instead of April 11. He was born at 3:10 a.m. in Dunoon Scotland, where we lived while Jerry was in the Navy. Because of the time difference, it was still April 10th in the US so my brother says if Craig wants to be a US citizen, he should celebrate on US time!

Happy Birthday Craig! We love you.

Beach days

A week or so ago we had lunch at the beach with the kids and Chrystal's folks to celebrate her stepdad's birthday. After lunch Jerry & Noah sure had fun in the water! Noah enjoyed it so much he begged to go back soon, so Jerry took him again 2 days later. Now he wants a boogie board.

Slacker

That's what I am, a slacker. I haven't had anything much to post. I have been working on a few things, and will try to get some photos posted soon. I'm taking a class at quilt university and while they're on the 4th and final week of the class, I'm still cutting out fabric. If all goes as planned, I'm going to use the quilt from this online class as my entry in the final journal quilt project. In that case, I guess I can't really post a photo anyway.

I have lots of things on my to-do list, and need to get busy. I spent this past week doing some spring cleaning. The week started off at 85 degrees, but tonight we're supposed to get an unusual hard freeze with temps in the 20's, so maybe I did the spring cleaning a little too early.

Since I have no quilt photos to post, I'll post this photo of Jerry and me taken recently. The golf club had a photographer come for the benefit of the club and since I really don't like having my photo taken I resisted going for the sitting. Jerry finally convinced me to do it, and while I don't love the photo, it turned out a whole lot better than I ever expected. (clickable for a larger view)

We didn't plan it, but isn't it nice that we coordinated so well?

Computer Crash!

Stop what you're doing right now and back up your computer - you'll thank me for it. I was too careless and hadn't backed up since January and paid for it last week when the hard drive on my laptop died. Jerry has been working for days trying to restore things for me. I've lost a bunch of stuff, but he was able to save some items.

Backup NOW!

Pigeon Forge quilt show

I returned today from the Pigeon Forge quilt show in Tennessee. The actual quilt show was more the size of a large guild show and was very traditional. I originally posted a photo of a quilt I really liked, but since I didn't have the maker's name to give proper credit, it was suggested I remove the photo, so I did.

We had a great time. There were 10 of us in the 3 condos. It was nice to get to know some of my fellow guild members better and I even got some sewing done!

On the road...

I'm going to Pigeon Forge, TN with a group of quilters from my guild this weekend. There is a show there next week and we've arranged for a couple of condos for the week to attend the show and have some 'girlfriend' time. I'm a last minute replacement. One of the quilters had to cancel and I'm taking her place. I'm really sorry that she can't go, but I am glad I get to go. I'm going to be VIRGINIA for the week and attend the events she signed up for.

I'll try to take lots of photos to share.

UFO cleanout

Several years ago I took a 'snippets' class from Cindy Walter. My class project was a vase of flowers. I put two borders on it, quilted it and then discovered that the portion inside the borders wasn't square.

I set it aside and kept thinking about how to fix it. Since it was already quilted my options seem limited. I eventually decided that I would take an inch off the outside border, slice up the quilt and use the inch of border as inserts in the sliced areas.

Well, that was such a failure that I have now deposited the work in the trash. There won't even be any photos to memorialize the disaster.

It was very freeing to just toss it and no longer worry about how to fix it.

Which sports car are you?

Apparently I drive the right car! This is actually the car I own - it's even the right color! (although I think this photo is of a newer model - mine is 6 years old and just today I hit 60,000 miles.) I really like my little car - especially the hard top convertible. It's really fun to watch as the trunk lid opens and the hard top folds into the trunk!

Which car are you?

I'm a Mercedes SLK!

You appreciate the finer things in life. You have a split personality - wild or conservative, depending on your mood. Wherever you go, you like to travel first class. Luxury, style, and fun - who could ask for more?

Take the http://www.tomorrowland.us/sportscar">Which Sports Car Are You?quiz.

Completed NY Beauty top

(for some reason the photo doesn't show up properly but you can click to see the enlarged photo)

I finally finished piecing the silk NY Beauty. Now that I have it together I see things I would change. I don't know yet if I'll actually take anything apart to change it. I probably won't unless it bugs me big time.

I'm going to have to figure out how to stabilize the parts that stick out at the top & sides so they don't flop around, but that shouldn't be too hard.

I appreciate all the comments about how to quilt this. I'm still uncertain about how to do it. I'm not a very confidant machine quilter & I sure don't want to have to rip out any stitching because it will leave marks in the silk. I'll keep you posted!

Now what?

I've finished piecing the NY beauty blocks and have decided on how I plan to lay them out. I just laid the blocks out randomly for this photo and haven't committed to actual block placement, but I know I want the final shape of the quilt to have the uneven edges. Laying the blocks out on the living room rug probably wasn't the best idea for taking photos but I think you can see what I'm trying to accomplish. (click on photo for a larger view)

So, my dilemma is what kind of batting should I use for a silk quilt and HOW DO I QUILT IT???

Any suggestions would be appreciated.