Garden goodies, More quilts and Birmingham quilt show....

The garden has been producing some yummy things finally. I picked fresh blueberries, this morning for lunch and some fresh grape tomatoes, with a few tomatoes for slicing. I love fresh tomatoes. The peppers are finally growing..in that I can see them... a couple of inches. The only peppers going great are the cayenne. I have no idea why I planted them...except they sounded good that day at the garden center. We are preparing for family to come for a get together. So have loads to do..extra baking. But have finished up a few more quilts for customers. Two sisters sent me similar colored lone star quilts. I wanted to do them slightly different...but still keep them similar. They actually turned out so well...that I really want a red, white and blue one of my own. I love these quilts..but don't think I have the patience to do one of my own. For myself. I have finally finished a simple little bargello style flag for Independence day. Now I had never done my own pattern...and these were scraps...so they didnt turn out exactly as I planned, in fact...I forgot about cutting the pieces apart to sew back together...so it is narrower than a waving flag should be...but Its finished. Yeah. I started this quite a while back...so that is another UFO done. I also had the pleasure to go to the Birmingham quilt show in Alabama last weekend with some other quilters. Let me tell you it is a very small world... while standing in the Altzeimer's exhibition looking at the quilts another lady and I began chatting...and somehow having a longarm machine came up.... come to find out we have emailed and chatted online. What are the chances.... I had no idea ...it was definitely fun seeing a face to put to a name. It also was a lovely show. Lots of beautiful quilts. I really enjoyed seeing each of them. I loved this chicken applique, pieced wall hanging. It was lovely and so beautifully quilted. And today is my darling Elisie-Pie's birthday... she is growing up so quickly. This photo was taken by her mom at the "Broadway" evening at her school. She of course was one of the performers. She is so talented... making quilts... I am going to recieve one very soon of her very own creations! I can hardly wait.

Quilts for Africa, Warm Feelings and being Blessed and more ...

When I left Africa about 15 1/2 months ago.... I thought it would be like most moves.... YOu leave, then slowly but surely your new home takes over your thoughts...but I find that hasn't exactly happened. I am not sure if it was because of the caliber of ladies whom I felt privileged to call my friends...or just because I did volunteer work with them, and had no close family or job to distract me. I love these ladies because of their wonderful hearts.... never thinking anything is too big to get accomplished, or not important enough to do. I have to post this photo...as of course ..being a quilter, and living there for 4 years, I did accumulate a stash. I had to leave much more behind than I was able to bring back with me.Just before I left, a dear lady donated some more fabric to me, so I bequeathed them to my dear quilting ladies. Well, they have outdone themselves. They made 24 quilts...with the bits and pieces and have delivered them to the Komani Hospital in Queenstown South Africa. The email and photo I received said they were snatched up, by the long term patients there. More will hopefully be made in the future for the rest of the mental health patients there. They live very sub-standard with little more than a bed in their rooms, and It is very cold there at the moment, so I know they were appreciated. How could I not be nostalgiac for these dear, caring ladies. And I am so privileged to have known them, even for a short time.

I also can now share the finished photos of Toni Brenker from PA's quilts... she has received them now. One is the Orange Crush and the other is the Double Delight quilt from Quiltville. com .

We are preparing for our children to come for a visit over the 4th. Of course, we wanted to have someplace to cool off..so last year at the end of the season we purchased a large pool..... and tried to set it up this week...only to find out that the ground needs to be way more level than our back yard is.... a dilemma...it capsized... ( I wish I would have had a photo of that one!) So undaunted we went back to the store to see if there was a slightly smaller one... well we didn't find one that would work...or that wouldn't break the bank...so back home...and after much swearing and gnashing of teeth...we decided to go redneck!!! It is only temporary...( or will it be????) but here it is...... set up on the only level area we have.... ON the CARPORT! I know.... now I am thinking of hanging some mosquito curtaining..... along the front just to give us a little privacy while the kids are here.... I really don't want to expose my bits and pieces to the neighbors either!!!!! But it will be wet for the grands when they come. Until we sort something else out.

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Family travel in South AFrica, Gardening in the jungle....more quilts and the princess!

Where does time seem to go. In between, working, quilting for customers...trying to make something for me, visiting and loving every moment of being with the grands, and every day life, I can't seem to keep up with posts! Had to post a photo sent to me by a dear friend from South Africa...now this is family togetherness. Scary but a real reality if you don't want to walk. And the little garden has become semi- jungle.... !!!! I have lots of tomatoes, both large and grape sized.... but the peppers seem to be taking forever. Now, when we visited the princess, she loved helping in her Mom's strawberry patch...Some of the water ended up on the plants even. I have

quilt guild this week...and have been busily working on my challenge quilt. We were given this "Ugly" lime green fabric with little alien people on it and instructed to make a small quilt...many of which will be donated to the Sheriff's dept. for our charity project.( so sorry to the designer of it) Well the more I looked at it...I decided I needed to think outside the box...and oila.... an applique quilt was born. It is fun,

and I have made another to donate to the Sheriff's dept...but will probably use this for Halloween ....it is the proper colors after all.They say that you just have to cut the pieces small enough to overcome ugly fabric.... I think you just have to use it in an unusual way. I also have done several customer quilts..... Here are two that I can share. I have a few more, but don't want to spoil the surprise when TONI from PA, gets hers in the mail.

More later! Unfortunately, maybe much later!