Christmas Strip Road

I took part in a Cyberquilters 4-C-Bees special project week-end before last, and miracle of miracles, I have finished the top. It is supposed to look very different, but due to my fabric choices, it is what it is. It is from a pattern generously shared by Benita Skinner, called Strip Road. Mine is more like a Strip Unroad though. The only purchase that I made was for 2/3 yard of the red cranberry fabric, and I'm going to use some Christmas fat quarters that I got from Connecting Threads for the back, so it is almost all from my small stash. I have wanted a Christmas quilt, and I'm not hating it even if it was supposed to look different than it does. It will be another miracle if I get it finished for this Christmas, but miracles do happen.

Tea Things Tuesday III

I guess that you could call this indecisive day for me. I started out wanting to share my favorite and oldest teapot. I got it mail order about 40 years ago, and I'm almost sure that it was from the Vermont Country store. I couldn't afford it, but it was one of the few things that I splurged on anyway, and I have carried it through many a move since. It is marked "made in Staffordshire England", and has pretty gold and robin's egg blue trim. Then I decided to add a few autumn things, so added the pumpkin that I just found at the Dollar Store, and some of my favorite miniature things, you'll probably see lots of miniature things as I really like them. My mother and two of my aunts enabled me with my love of small glass chickens and bunnies and I have them all over the house. To me they are like little jewels and are some of my favorite things because I love them, and because of where I got them. My mother and one of my aunts have since passed away. The little terra cotta rooster is Avon, and held wax beads. Opposite to my love of miniatures is my love of great big bowls. You can see some of those in the background.

In Rhode Island there is a pottery called Peter Pots. I have a set of dinnerware and also quite a few of what I call "little cute things". The blue sugar and creamer are some of those, they are called the chipmunk set.

From there my mind went to Thanksgiving, I don't know what happened to Halloween, and I added Woman in Prayer, I call her the praying lady. She's a copy of a bronze statue in Nauvoo, Illinois, and I think that she is beautiful.

I hope that you have enjoyed my indecisive offering for today, and to see more Tea Things Tuesday, you can go to Kim's blog, Shabby, Pink and Pretty for links.

Tea Things Tuesday II

It's time again for Tea Things Tuesday.

Kim from Shabby, Pink and Pretty
is the sponsor of this weekly event, and to see some beautiful tea related posts by some really talented ladies, visit her blog for links.

In Orlando, Florida where we live, there are many outlets and I used to regularly haunt them. Now I hardly go anymore, as I have run out of room in my home for more treasures. I have acquired a set of Royal Doulton's Old Country Roses pattern with settings for ten, and also many cute little accessory pieces and serving pieces. The pattern will probably show up again, but for this week I wanted to share a few pieces. Admittedly, the little creamer would be useless in an actual tea serving, but it is so charming, and looks nice with the little usable sugar bowl that my daughter got me for my birthday this year.

Last Thanksgiving, we had the whole family over, about a total of thirty people give or take, and I used my embroidery machine to add designs to a napkin for each person. It's almost time to use them again. Hard to believe that it is almost that time, and there is planning to do. I thought that I would borrow one to cover my Old Country Roses plastic tray.

DH was in the hospital and is going very well, my DD's fiance was in the hospital and is also doing much better, and now my grandson is in the hospital. I was there most of the night day before last and spent most of the day yesterday there. I got home about 7:00 pm yesterday and then slept for about 5 hours. Now it's almost 2 am and I'm not at my best, so please excuse anything that isn't making too much sense. The doctor said that perhaps he will be out today, and I hope that that is right. When he was about to turn 2 years old he fell on a knife, and then had to have surgery when he was 7 for adhesions caused by the knife accident. He has problems off and on and will eventually have to have more surgeries, but hopefully this is not the time. He is doing better, and if it wasn't for the stomach, intestine problems, he would be 100%, he is still strong as an ox and solid as can be. He's 24 years old now.

They say things come in three's, so hopefully this is the end of it. If we need something for good measure, DH's sister was also in the hospital briefly for irregular heartbeat and my pregnant DGD spent a few hours in the ER checking out chest pains. They are both fine.
Have a happy Tea Things Tuesday.

Getting back to normal

DH has been out of the hospital now for a week, and getting a bit stronger each day. Thank you for the prayers and good wishes, I know that it helped me, and I'm sure that it helped him also. It will be a slow process for him to get completely back to normal, as he has several ongoing health issues, but things are going in a generally upward path. I was hoping to make it to Quiltfest in Jacksonville this weekend, but maybe next year.My daughter's fiance is also an Ernie, as is DH, and he is going through his own health issues right now. He is having more tests today, and I would ask for prayers on his behalf also. Thank you very much.









The strange picture above is what it is like to wake up in Florida for much of the year. Many mornings due to the air-conditioning inside, and the humidity outside, it is a few hours before we can see out of the windows due to the condensation. The other morning there was an odd looking little path, I took a closer look to see what had made the marks on the window, and I could see the path of a little (probably) tree frog as he made his way around my sliding glass door. Now I'm worried to go out that he may fall on my head. Thank goodness DH is improving, as he has volunteered to go out first, just in case, and I'm going to take him up on it. I'm not afraid of small frogs, but I don't want any on my head. If you look closely, I think you'll see some little frog bodies in the trail.
As you can see below, I have managed to do a little sewing. This is the first of three, of my nine patch tops. Now the other small one, and a larger one to do. My basting and quilting of my other six children's quilts is on hold as I have to get a table to set up on the porch to spray baste. Now that DH is recuperating from pneumonia, it won't work to do it on the dining room table and then clean up the sticky, it will need to be done outside.

DH in Hospital

Just a quick post today. Saturday morning at about 1:30 I took my husband to the emergency room. He had been ill for several days and getting weaker and coughing a lot. He resisted going, I had been trying to get him to go to his doctor for 2-3 days, but the last straw was when he started seeing things that weren't there, and being very confused. With some difficulty, I convinced him to go with me to the hospital and they had him in the back room in just a few minutes. His blood pressure was dangerously low, and his oxygen saturation was also. He had a temp of 103.2, and that combined with the low oxygen was what they felt was causing the mental problems. He has what they said is a very large pneumonia in his left lung and his white cell count which is supposed to be around 4500 was around 1000. He has been in a room where everyone had to wear masks to keep from making him sicker, and this morning the nurse gave me some good news, they have gotten his count up to about 4200. No more masks. He didn't want to be admitted, and the doctor had to talk him into staying. He told him that if he went home he would almost certainly die. My daughter had come to the hospital to stay with us, and she was looking very upset, I told him that if he didn't stay he would traumatize his daughter, and that combined with the nurse telling him that if he didn't stay insurance probably wouldn't pay for the visit to that point, he finally relented. It hasn't been easy, he has had 5 IV sites now, 2 in each arm and now one that seems to weave from his arm to his chest. He hates needles and at times I have almost felt guilty for making him stay, he has been so miserable. I am glad of course that I took him, and that he is improving. He has a very nice large private room, and most of the staff are extremely nice and helpful. I will probably be scarce for awhile, but have my netbook here in the hospital, so will check in occasionally. I am pretty much sleep deprived now, as I could probably count the sleep that I have gotten in the past 2 days on one hand and have at least one finger left over, so I apologize for rambling.

Minutiae

My daughter and grand DIL stopped by yesterday morning and when they left I saw this pretty fellow in the grass. At first I thought that it must be very intent on something, but then I realized it was injured. A shame, but still big and beautiful.









The lighting is terrible, but I think that this is going to be a pretty little quilt when it's done. I have gotten a start on the sashing, and am anxious to see the flimsy. This is for a little girl, and then there will be one the same size for a little guy, and a larger one for me (or someone else, who knows). The colors are brighter and less antiquey looking than it looks here.

Trade with Bluebird Lyn

If Lyn ever requests a trade with you, say yes as quick as you can. I've heard of Christmas in July, but I got Christmas in September. The package was charming, and I opened it with anticipation. The card that was on top was lovely as you can see, and I took a picture of the back too, as it is equally as pretty, and it doesn't say Hallmark, it says Koala, which to me is a bit exotic and interesting. It isn't often I receive a present from so far away.

The original swap was for fabric, the rest is a bonus. This adorable Funky Monkey fabric was my prize. It is cuter than I imagined and will be just perfect for my new great grandbaby due in December. Her daddy wants monkeys, and I will combine this with monkey embroidery.

These are new to me, but since they say paper bow tie on them, I imagine that they are for decorating Christmas packages. Very pretty.

I see a wallhanging in my future, as this is a vintage art quilt block. Isn't the fabric that came with it beautiful.

This is adorable. It is a wooden thread holder and makes me think that I'd better take up cross stitch again. It would be perfect for my threads. For now, it is just nice to look at and enjoy. I may make it into a little mini mobile for my sewing room.

I think that this is 3 or 4 gifts in one. Do you see the pretty brooch? Scissors are one of the things I like to collect, and I love pins. I need to start going to our local quilting group, and I think I would enjoy wearing it there, and telling everyone where it came from (Australia). This little case will tuck perfectly into my rolling cart, and what could be nicer than a little mini cutting board and 1/4 inch plus ruler. I may be the center of attention for awhile while everyone ooh's and aah's.

Thank you so much Lyn, this is most surely above and beyond, and very much appreciated.

Tea Things Tuesday

Today is my first time participating in Tea Things Tuesday. My MIL collected teacups and I admired hers when I was first married. It was probably 8 or 9 years later before I got my first one, although we bought her several for gifts. One of the first that I got, and still my favorite is the Spode Shima pattern. I believe that the pattern was discontinued about 1985. Here in Orlando, Fl. there was a big old warehouse type building that sold various china, crystal, etc. and they had this one cup and saucer. I went back 2 or 3 times before I succumbed and purchased it, and I've never been sorry, as I said it is still my favorite. I have others that are probably prettier, but there is something about this pattern that really appeals to me. The little crystal sugar bowl on the right is one that I got at the Waterford outlet. My mother gave me the little silverplate spoon, and she has since passed away, so it is also a treasure to me. If you visit Kim at Shabby, Pink and Pretty you will be able to visit the other participants for Tea Things Tuesday.

More Shopping

Here's my finished bindings, they look much neater now than draped all over my sewing room like icicles hanging down. I got this cute little container at Office Depot a couple of months ago just because it was cute, and it holds all my bindings perfectly. Hopefully not for long though, as they need to be on my kids quilts in progress.










Robin's Egg Blue and Candy Pink arrived yesterday from Fabric Depot and they are pretty in person, too. I just hope that the blue is boyish enough. I got 5 yards of each so that I will have leftovers after I use it for sashings on my boy and girl Nine Patches.










I was looking for fabrics for hostess presents for a trip that has now been cancelled when I saw these Christmas Stockings and fabrics at Connecting Threads. I thought that the stockings were very cute and aspire to make some for gifts (hopefully, for this year, but I make no promises). The new fabrics are only on the bottom row and the thread is just to keep the fabric from falling down. The top row, I already had.










Lazy Girl Fabric Pouches were what I finally came up with for hostess gifts, and I got a fat quarter bundle, again from Connecting Threads.










This entire box is the bundle, and the little zipper pulls are made from horn. Our trip has been cancelled for now, but maybe in the spring we will go, so I still plan to make the pouches. The fat quarters were on clearance, too. I always love a bargain, but my fathers advice comes back to me, that you can go broke saving money.
Yesterday was a run around day. I got a haircut, DH went to the opthomologist, and we had our favorite handyman come to fix the toilet, which has been running. My husband had tried to fix it by replacing a part, but the tank needed to be taken off for this particular fix. In the process, a 20 year old plastic piece fell apart and Mr. handyman is coming back this morning. It is funny how we get spoiled. I grew up with a one bathroom house and a family of five and we managed. Now I am used to my own bathroom and sharing one with DH seems like a sacrifice. Our house is small, and our bathrooms are small, but it is a luxury to have the two, which I have quickly become accustomed to. It makes me a little ashamed though to be so spoiled.
For you who celebrate the holiday, have a good and safe one. Everyone else, have a nice weekend.

Bindings in Progress

I haven't gotten a single quilt quilted, but I am doing the bindings in advance. I have seven sewn and ready to press and it sure does make my sewing room a mess. Kind of reminds me of icicles hanging everywhere, but we still have the air-conditioner on.