Featherwieght

Thanks to a South Asheville neighbor, this sweet little Featherweight now lives at my house.  The neighbor had the machine in her car, ready to take to Good Will, for a couple of weeks. She drove around with it but just couldn't bring herself to leave her grandmother's sewing machine at Good Will.  Sarah and Winnie were walking up the street and the neighbor asked whether they sewed, and Sarah said that her mother did.  It needs just a few tiny repairs, otherwise it's in great shape.

The serial number tells me that it was made in 1956.  It looks totally at home in my house, built in 1953. 

Busy Week

It's been a busy week.  Sarah and Winnie came to visit and to celebrate Sarah's 40th birthday.  Along with the happy busyness of visiting, Reds game, birthday party, and landscaping, it was also the last Sunday for my church's much-loved pastor.

Among the gifts for the pastor family, I was asked to make a wallhanging, shown above.  It's called Roots and Journeys and represents the roots we put down and the journeys we take throughout our lives.

 

 

Bright colors seemed appropriate for a family that includes three young girls.  The machine quilting is dense, both for contrast and to help the fine line piecing lay flat.

 

As always, there is a period of readjustment following the fun of a Sarah/Winnie visit.  The house and my life are too quiet. 



Reds Fan

My grandgirl Nora is usually a little reserved,

but that doesn't apply to Reds games, when she gets ever so happy

and does some serious cheering.

Her brother did some serious cotton candy eating.

It was a great night at the ball park, good weather, full stadium, Reds win, fireworks-watching from the bridge.

Maple Helicopters

Yesterday Carrye and I worked on her blog and now she's ready to start posting again.  You can find Carrye's blog here.

When I left her house, we admired these little maple "helicopters" outside her door.  Each one must feel so hopeful, hypothetically, to grow into a tree.

Occasionally, I finish an intense project, followed by a frenzy of cleaning and doing laundry and dishes plus picking up things that have flown around my studio.  In a few hours . . . that's going to happen. 

Last Bit

I'm working on the last bit of piecing, looking forward to making a few circles today, then putting the quilt together tomorrow.  I don't have a plan about how it will all work, just trusting that it will come together like it should.  I have to admit that I'm looking at all those bright colors and feeling just a little nervous, but I did want those brights, after all.

Nora after practice last night:  "I love softball."  She heard one of the girls say, "She's really a good hitter," and the coach waved the outfielders back when she came to bat.  She was proud that one of the knees on her long shorts had a big grass stain and the other had a spot of blood from fielding adventures.  I'm so delighted that this little academic-oriented girl has a team sport that she really enjoys.

After practice we walked to the concession stand for icy drinks, then picked up pizza and salad from Gramma's Pizza, which has really awesome cheese pizza.  It's located right across the street from the road leading to the ball fields, great location for them. 

Things to be grateful for today:  waking up early to bird sounds, that my computer had security software added during the night, stumbling on to a new simple quilt pattern that I love.  That I have all that mulch in my back yard. 

Fine Line Piecing

A few years ago I was able to take a Kathy Loomis workshop on fine line piecing.  You can see her tutorial here.  I really enjoyed the concept and have used it numerous times since, for quilts and quilted purses. 
 

Recently, I've been playing with different fabrics for the fine lines.  Stripes work great,

and in my most recent project, I've tried large florals too.  The further I go with trying different fabrics, the more I like it.  You'll see the fnished project in a couple of weeks.

Happiness

Just maybe . . . happiness is waking up with your dog whose hair color matches yours.

Tee Ball

Steph's picture, which is the very one I would have taken, had I taken any at all.  The little guy has his dad's old number.   

I learned this morning that Aaron prefers games to practices.  Practices are boring, it seems, and I imagine that there is the uniform factor as well.

Aaron said he didn't feel well this morning so we did our drill of pulling out of the car line (first) to the other side of the building and he walked around a little, saying this stomach really didn't feel good.  Then we pulled back around the building to our new position in the car line, next to last, and the ailment seemed to go away.  It would be awesome if all illness could be so easily cured.

It was a big morning, starting with the book fair at Nora's school.  I think they need a couple of morning days because it is a very crowded event.  Very cool to see kids picking out books and being excited about it.    

In the Car Line

On the days that I drop off the kids at school, our goal is that Nora is there early enough that she can walk, not run, into her school, which starts at 9:00. 

Aaron's preschool starts at 9:15, and he loves to be first in the car line.  The cars line up, and at 9:15 one of the teachers comes out, opens the car's back door, and the child hops out with lunch box and whatever else is needed that day.  Very efficient, the child walks into the school, the parent drives away, and the next car pulls up.  No tears, no hanging on.  The kids and the parents know the drill.

Once Nora is dropped off, Aaron enjoys one last video game, in an interactive kind of way, down the road and in the car line.  "Gran B, do you hear those monkeys?"  "Do you wish you had zombies in your room?"  "I never cleared that level before."  His fingers move and his month moves.

Come to think of it, last week at the tee ball game, Steph commented that Aaron might be too social to play first base.  Tee ball picture tomorrow.

Catchng Up

Another baby quilt finished, with a light blue background.  I found a tutorial for making it here, although I did change the block arrangement.  It's fun and quick to do, and uses scraps too.  Now I'm at least caught up with the rest of my group as they work on this month's quilt.

It's a rainy afternoon and it feels good to be excused from yard work.  I did go outside before church, and the rain, and moved several buckets of mulch from the big pile in the back yard.  Last summer I had two trees cut down and the tree service ground up the stumps.  My landscaper daughter told me that I had to wait a year to use that mulch, but I figure that ten months is probably close enough.  Hmmm, if I move ten bucketsful every day, I wonder how long it will take to either mulch everything or run out of mulch.  I'll let you know. 

Remembrances

Iris from a church friend, hosta from a neighbor, shared plants are the best.

The best from my uncle's funeral yesterday:  seeing family.  Meeting formerly-tiny Milena and admiring my aunt in a pretty light-turquoise suit.  Seeing my sister and niece in a rare visit.  And all my uncle's grandkids.

I took notes and wrote them on my program, which has since disappeared, so I'll try to remember a few things.  Remembered quote from my uncle:  "Be as creative as you know how to be."  And another, sometimes spoken in Swiss, "The bird sings a different song today," in reference to change. 

Spoken remembrances:  "He was always busy."  "He didn't speak mean words about anyone."  "He shared his art."

My uncle was 91 years old and the church was packed.  Obviously, his friends were not only his cohort and his family.

***Thanks to Diana for posting this link to a copy of Gregg's speech. 
http://www.blufftonicon.com/news/2013/05/04/darvin-luginbuhl-four-irrefutable-facts