Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you moms out there are having a wonderful day. And I extend that greeting to all surrogate moms, moms-to-be, and others who fill that role.

I will enjoy an afternoon visit with my own dear momma, and while we are there I think my daughters will stop in for a visit, as well. Yay! 

Here are Mom and I a few years ago celebrating something at the local Mexican restaurant we all love. 

And here I am with our daughters in 2020 when we spent the weekend in a cabin in Hocking Hills. Totally unplanned, we arrived dressed identically, proof that we must surely be related!

Our son lives all the way out in Oregon so we do not see him often; he's texted this morning, and in a few weeks we'll be driving out there to see him. All these pics need updating; Adam's dog Steve has been gone since '18! 

Does it surprise you to know that I take far more pictures of quilts than I do family? Yikes.

Well, I hope you are able to celebrate Mom in some way, shape or form!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

 

Happy Mother's Day

Just a quick post today to wish special greetings to all the moms out there.

I love the cartoons by Sandra Boynton, and share them regularly on Facebook. She has been drawing and publishing for over 30 years; I remember reader some of her books to our kids as toddlers.

Here's a picture of my dear mom with me and my four siblings. This was taken on Easter 2019. No recent group pics available. Darn pandemic.

Carol, Alan, me, Mom, Mark and Sandy.

We are just six years apart agewise; I am the oldest and Carol is the youngest. It was a full house, a crowded dining table, and a blessed home. It amazes me that she did all that she did - and she's still going strong!

Hope your day is blessed!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Mother's Day Round-Up

Did all you moms have a nice Mother's Day? This mom did, and I hope you did, too. My plan was to blog yesterday about Mother's Day, but plans do go awry, sometimes, and so today I am playing catch-up.

My biggest excuse for going off my plan is this darn allergy-cold I have picked up! Doggone it, anyway, but it sure makes a gal miserable with dripping and snuffling. My eyes water, my nose tickles, my throat is sore, and my head is foggy. Gah, I'm a mess.

With all that going on in my head, I was still determined to hit all my planned activities for the weekend. A good hot shower and multiple hot drinks - both coffee and tea - kept my head happy. So on Saturday, we met our girls and their fellas in Columbus at Arch City, a friendly, inviting restaurant/pub in the Short North. The girls pooled their resources and gifted me 2 tickets to see humorist Jeanne Robertson when she comes to Columbus in August. Here's another link at Wikipedia. I am super-stoked about this! I have been a big fan of hers since I first heard of her several years ago from friend and fellow book-clubber, Marlise. If you do YouTube, go search for her clip about sending her husband to the grocery - it's a hoot! You will find dozens of other 5-10-minute clips and before long you will be a fan, too.

But I digress. We had a great time with the kids. The waitress was kind enough to take a picture of us.

There's the sweet gang - Erin (DD1), Emma (DD2), Geoffrey (Emma's boyfriend), Kevin (DH), Jeff (Erin's DH) and Jayne.

Since DS Adam is in Oregon, I couldn't get a current pic of him, so the next best thing was to make a collage of a decent recent pic side-by-side with his sisters.

The three who call me mom. Love 'em to pieces! Adam called Sunday morning, so I touched base with them all.  On Mother's Day afternoon, we drove over to my mom's for a visit. She had indicated earlier in the week that she didn't want a big fuss, and to just stop by to visit in the afternoon. Had the weather been nicer, we would have made homemade ice cream. 

Any time spent with Mom is sure to be fun. She loves sports and has always been a tomboy. When we were little, she would pitch and Dad would catch while we five kids hit, ran the bases and fielded. Many an after-supper softball game was had in the front yard this way. Looking back, I can see this was a sure-fire way of wearing us out for an early bedtime! 

The picture below is from Easter where we attempted to get some family group pictures. Much silliness! Our mother sure loves to have a good time; her sunny disposition has shaped us all. 

While she has definite tomboy tendencies, her influence on my becoming a seamstress is immeasurable. Most of our clothes from those very young years were hand-made. Even the boys had some homemade shirts and shorts. Additionally, she made her own clothes and many items for our home such as curtains, pillows, table cloths, and comforters. Often, dolls came decked out with homemade clothes at Christmas time. 

(Clip art from Instagram.)

She turned me loose on the sewing machine when I was 7 and in my first year of 4H; in that first year I made a tea towel and a needle book. (I believe I still have that needle book somewhere.) How I thank my lucky stars for her willingness to teach me to sew. As I grew, I remained in 4H and by the time I finished, I was making most of my own clothes. In high school, I made a winter coat, learning about bound buttonholes and tailoring. I continued to make my own clothes through college and my early married years. At some point in the late 80s, I took a sharp turn into quilting, and haven't looked back. 

Happy stuff. So glad to enjoy a fun weekend celebrating my mother, and being celebrated by my kiddos. I did remember other special mothers like my late m-i-l Mary, my grandmother, and my aunt. They have passed but are not far from our memories, especially on Mother's Day.

Now, a new week is upon us; I want to kick this crazy head-stuffy nonsense and take on some big tasks! Gonna' get stuff done!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Monday Musings

Did you moms out there have a nice Mother's Day? My absence here on the blog should indicate that mine was very happy. Too busy to both write a post and to read all the blogs I like to keep up with, so those are good signs of a happy Mother's Day weekend.

I hesitate to share a photo of one child's gift when all were quite generous, but flowers do make a lovely picture, don't they? Dear son, you may recall, has gone back out West, so I did not get to enjoy visiting with him in person; these flowers and a phone call sufficed.

I did get to spend time with both daughters, just not together. We drove to Columbus on Saturday and went out to a fancy restaurant with DD1 and her husband. Italian; upscale; within walking distance of their downtown apartment. We had a great time.

On Sunday, DD2 was home and we just had a long day of "together time." It was wonderful. I fixed a nicer than usual breakfast, and her boyfriend was here for an easy supper. She took more furniture back with her to their new apartment, along with a plate of chocolate brownies from good ol' Mom.

I called my own Dear Momma and we have set up a sewing date! Have I mentioned that she wants to make a quilt?? Yes, this is true; I will be cutting a "kit" for her since she doesn't have all the fancy cutting stuff. We have set a tentative date of Thursday for me to go over and spend a day sewing with her. Since she taught me to sew, there will be no "teaching" on my part; I think she just wants help with the old sewing machine, and tips on chain piecing.

My quilting activity these past few days has been to re-establish callouses on my quilting fingers. I worked on the 6-point star a bit Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I have made decent progress and the fingers are toughening up quite nicely. The picture above is a repeat from a recent post, but I can tell you that most of the unquilted stars in this photograph are now quilted. I am very near to having to move to a new section! Yay!

Happy Monday, Friends, and Happy Quilting!

Hey Mom!!

Are you celebrating your mother today? We took the day yesterday to help spruce up my mother's yard and flower beds. Actually, DH did most of the hard work, along with various other family members, Mark, Ann, Abby, and Stephen. I took on the task of helping to babysit the most adorable twins in the world. They are 6 now, and about to finish kindergarten in a week or two.

Meet my mother, Jeannie. I am the oldest of 5; we have given her 13 grandkids, and 9 great-grands. Mom is as much fun as she looks. Always a sports fan, she loves a good ballgame - any sport - basketball, baseball, football, volleyball, soccer. She definitely doesn't let any moss grow under her feet! She stays active by volunteering at the hospital, bowling every Wednesday, and playing cards in a couple of bridge clubs.

Here are those sweet twins; I couldn't get them both to smile for me at the same time.

Anna Rose

Mary Jean

Have a look Mom's beautified front flower bed. The work crew did extensive work around the house and around the garage. It was an all-day effort! We stopped back by there later, and Mom was out surveying her realm. It really looks fantastic. I do believe she is pleased.

Switching gears just a bit, let me share a cool Mother's Day sentiment. A dear friend will become a first-time mom very, very soon. Alison and her hubby Paul will welcome a little bundle of joy any day now. The due date is May 18. Happy almost-Mother's Day, Alison!!

This will be the first grandchild for our good friends Judy and Harold. They welcomed a daughter-in-law to the family last month, and will welcome a grandbaby this month. How nice is that? (You may remember the wedding quilt that I made for the new couple. Check this link to the post.)

Alison and Paul at her brother's wedding.

The expectant parents will, of course, be getting a baby quilt. When I learned that Ali was expecting, I contacted her about her preferences for a quilt. Since they opted not to find out the sex of the baby in advance, I needed to make a neutral quilt. Ali and Paul moved during this pregnancy, and when preparing their nursery, Ali told me that their colors would be gray and teal, with pops of orange. That became my color scheme, and here is the result.

I found a quilt on Pinterest that intrigued me - a chevron quilt which didn't require triangles. I bought the fabrics early in the year, cut it out and sewed the blocks in March, went into overdrive in April, and now it awaits an opportunity to be delivered to Ali and Paul.

This picture is from the Canter's Cave retreat. I had to be very careful when laying out the blocks. It was tricky and I had to focus. (Hard to do on a retreat!)

I will be sure to try to acquire a picture of the little bundle of joy on his or her quilt in due time. (Hint, hint, Judy and Ali!) It won't really be complete until a baby is wrapped up in it, right??

I am spending my mother's day with my husband helping our DD2 move back to Athens. She will be taking classes this summer, and has a couple of part time jobs. 

Happy Mother's Day!

And Happy Quilting, Friends!

Two Things

Just two quick--important but quick--things today. First this:

Second, this:

Doesn't that just about say all that needs to be said?

Have a Happy Mother's Day!