Good Thoughts - a request

My dd#2 had a very scarey day yesterday.

Please click on the link and go over to Erika's page, she's posted a request. She and Aidan need a little love today.

Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Look at what I won!

In June, I won these lovely Quilt Hangers with my entry to Niki's Blog: www.nikisventures.blogspot.com

Sadly, I have NO quilt to hang with them, but they are waiting in the wings. I have a large area over my fireplace in the great room...the pattern all picked out...and a quilt in the fabric gathering stage! WOO-HOO!

I didn't post this timely, and I apologize to Niki. We all know what happened to my June/July year-end close and new job, WHEW, I'm glad that won't happen for another few months (although, like a true nerd, I loved the excitement!)

Please take a moment to stop by her blog and give her a "Howdy". She is a great detective and finds lots of free pattern sites, and posts lots of goodies! She's also has lots of nice things to offer in her "shop" too, the link is on the sidebar of her blog.

Passing on the "Creative Gene"

I mentioned in a previous post that my middle daughter had been bitten by the "Postcard Bug" and had created a card for her college friend. Below are her #2 and #3 cards. The one on the left was for the family she babysits for and the one on the right is for another friend's birthday.

My photo was a little blurry, please don't attempt to adjust your set. Interestingly, she did all her work on the background and then fused it together. I go about it the other way, fuse the layers together and keep adding. How about you? She had beads on the candle flames and sequins and beads as the cake decorations, they all travelled well thru the mail and were received in great shape. Good job daughter! (I've made ONE, lol.)

Now the next photo requires a bit of a story. When my youngest daughter was coming to our Sister's Gathering at the beginning of the month, she was flying on stand-by. She got hung-up in Dallas and had to search out the USO for assistance. They put all soldiers up in the terminal, occupying a bit of one gate area, with cots and overnight packets. My daughter was so thankful, as soon as she arrived she was rooting around in my sewing studio and came up with a UFO. (Imagine that!) These blocks and medallion were from 1999 when our "guild" called "Serial Quilters" gathered 40 quilters together, for the weekend, for "Ohio '99" in a hotel meeting room. The 40 quilters gifted the organizers with medallions and coordinating blocks according to our tastes. Anywho..my daughter zipped them together into a top and completed it in a matter of 3 days, layer, sandwiched and bound. huh!

Daughter delivered it to the Dallas USO on her way home, along with 4 covered pillow forms that she made slips for.

My youngest stayed after Sister's for four days. The night before she left I went to bed at 9pm and I left her reading. When I awoke the next morning and that crazy kid had put together a small lap quilt for herself from a charm pack she had gone shopping for while visiting. Um..pieced, layered, quilted, bound. She had stayed up until 3am. Ok, so it takes me years to finish something. Can I be 20 again?

Obviously you have to be 20 to look this good when you get woken up at 6am for a good-bye kiss!

Loves my girls!!

Names Changed to Protect the Innocent

Sisters 2007

Each year our family gets together as a Family Preservation thing. We live all across the USA, 2500 miles apart at some points. Ohio, California, Arizona and Texas were represented this year.

This year it was my turn to host our gathering here in the western desert. Not everyone is present, my oldest daughter was busy with work, my niece's kid's were busy and a couple of husbands were otherwise occupied. Nephew and family were away on a golf outing.

It was my idea to get everyone together for an old timey picture, a glimpse of what it could have been like back in the day. Ladies had a choice of "Saloon Gal" or "Prairie Gal" and the guys were all gun slingers.

The 3 "original Sisters" are in positions 2, 6 & 9 if you count left to right. Yeah, I'm #2 and in the middle of the birth order, lol. My handsome husband is on my right. My youngest is #3, my middle daughter is #7. The 3 kids belong to my younger sister, the rifle toting Mama in the middle. My oldest sister's daughter is in position #5. (I wonder why both of my single daughters have guns!?)

After our photo shoot we ate at the cowboy restaurant that is part of the western town theme. The kids had neck-ties which were supposed to cut off by the bad guys in the restaurant because it's not your fancy-eatin' kind of place. Instead the bad guys had them each write on their ties, "I'm with Stupid" and an arrow pointing at each other.

We had a great weekend, the kids swam in the pool and hiked in the washes, the adults sat around and played "Catch Phrase" and the dice game called "Right, Left, Center". Hubby came out $45 to the good, I broke even.

Overtime is officially OVER, company is gone...and I'm happily anticipating some good sewing time. I have news to post about my 2 girls and their sewing, they put their mother to shame! Blog fodder for the next few days.