Spooling

Lori Holts Tutorial

I think I just made a new word up but in the Quilters' World... SPOOLING :)
....a Spool Quilt.....Gotta have one.....so I have to make one....right after Jobs'Tears!!....I usually tear up when I laugh hard, don't you?
...actually, I have been known to have to pull over while driving if our group in the vehicle get me laughing...my eyes close and tears come and it is a "mess"....but a fun mess.....I won't tell you my experience with laughter while driving through Atlanta...I am sure that my sweet passengers have tried to forget that trip too!!
Ok, so onto the Spool News of the Day.....Lori Holt, yep, she is at it again! and again!!...love that gal!!...she has a tutorial......  There is also a class with Joanna Figueroa  on Craftsy, I did purchase this class and love all her ideas and arrangements of Old quilt patterns with fresh new ideas and her fabric is just gorgeous on any quilt block!....
These two spool quilts have two totally different looks....I am bending toward Joannas' myself.....
  So, just know as the old song goes...."Big girls don't Cry"....Beach Boys....... or "It's My Party and I'll Cry if I want too, Cry if I want too......you would cry too if it happened to You".....opps....just dated myself!!......really, laugh alot.....and cry with laughter if you want....be encouraged today.....I am counting my blessings....you are certainly one of them!

Pause.......

I must add the Sew We Quilt  blog HOP on RUFFLES...you must visit for several days to see all the goooood things! Love that Madam Samm !

Now I have to admit I have to be good and count SNOW AGAIN as a blessing....yep, it is snowing...the Goldens just came in with snow on their backs....big fluffy flakes, the kind you love at Christmas....have you seen the pictures of Niagra Falls?....frozen....with colored light under the snow....can I say More?....you bet! now you stop laughing! I know I am Gabby.....but I shut up when Quilting.....so!!  ....Quilted Hugs!!!  

Good News

We had a good day with our son and his wife and 2 little girls
even if he had just had surgery....it ended up to be a lappy; so that was a huge answer
to prayers...he was in and out of surgery in record time.  He opted to stay overnight due to his Dialysis schedule and ease of getting to the clinic on Saturday.
  It just seemed like the smart thing to do....and they can watch his vitals all night and that made his Dad and me feel better too.  So, that was a good thing to see happen....surgery yes, but not as in depth as it might have been....Dr was right, 70% chance it will be a Lappy.....Happy he was right!
So, now to heal and then start this PD dialysis and try to patiently wait for the transplant....of which, we are all so grateful for!

I could not sleep, since we were on the road over 7 hours total in just a 13 hour period of time. We had hugged on our 2 little Grandgals....and played the  "that's just so weird, Dobbie" game today.....we laughed and joked about "weirdo" things.....I totally needed the time playing in their room and watching them eat pizza and jello at the hospital cafeteria....their fav place right now to eat :).....and just hanging out.....no "particular place to go"....those are just the best times!!.....

My "weird-0" Companion 3 years ago

Also, tonight, I found a sweet book encouraged to me by Amazon; my faithful and free shipping friend....a book called  Civil War Legacies 11......it is just packed full of SMALL blocked OLD patterns, renamed and rearranged.....so I preordered it.....I love some of the names of her patterns....Connies' Lilly's.....it just sounds and looks awesome!!....you could substitute brighter 1930 Vintages too or use the splashy new prints of today....just experiment and make your "day"!.....that is what is so fun about quilting....No rules here in this house, girlfriend!!....
I even think you can figure out paper piecing for these blocks too; just "divide and conquer".....seriously!!

I better lay down and try some sleep again.....gotta finish a house quilt top tomorrow.....we only have 4-10 fresh inches of snow coming......but we are all stocked up......"let it snow, but please bring the Spring with it this time!!"  Quilted Blessings Dear Friend!!

Charming

                                        Hello!

                                              

                                                 I just wanted to share a video I found that is just so sweet and
                                           the quilt ideas are just so "charming",since you use charm
                                           squares.  (wink:)
                                           Our son who is hoping to have his kidney transplant
                                           this year, has come against another obstacle....his gallbladder
                                           started acting up last week and now has to be removed.....another
                                           surgery.  He is also going to go on Peritoneal Dialysis in his
                                           home as soon as things "heal"....he is now still on very tiring
                                           hemodialysis....we trust our Almighty God for every minute of
                                           his journey.  He has surgery tomorrow morning and we are
                                           running down to be with his wife and help with the girls where
                                           we can.
                                           I have been busy quilting since I have, pretty much ,been
                                           snow-bound this winter....I am on my 4th Quilt top and I have
                                           finished 2 mini quilts....one a mini Swoon......yes, it is sweet!!

                                            I am Hoping to longarm these tops soon and post       
                                           pictures....for now.......
                                           take care dear friends......
                                           Let me
                                           know when you see your 
                                           first sightings of    
                                           Spring.  Robins, Crocus, even the
                                           Smell of Spring will do!!    
                                           Quilted Blessings!!
                                    

Granny Squares Strip Style

Lovelylittehandmades.blogspot.com

i'm a ginger monkey: strip piecing a granny square block: A few people asked how I strip pieced my blocks and Dana graciously said I could post a little tute to share. The original tutorial for ...

 This is an awesome Strip style Granny Square Block, I am in love with the Granny Square...my Mom made us a crocheted Granny Square Afagan as a wedding present 44 years ago....it covered our little ones on the couch for cartoon time to covered when they were sick....they learned their colors as little toddlers repeating the variety of colors to us....precious....then I recieved one with the Doll Monthly Quilt swap I was in and totally wanted to do it from that moment on in a Quilt!  I am almost done piecing my Cherry Blossoms Quilt so since it is snowing and blowing and will continue to do that "forever" it seems...I am on to this quilt now!!  Never a dull moment here!!   Quilted Blessings!!

Cherry Blossoms In January

Why not start Spring in January?...Crazy you say?  Not us in NW Indiana these days!  Our son has come to a twist in his transplant....but we are glad that his donor knows of an issue with her kidneys and will be checked out; so, our son will have to wait a few more months for another live donor to be taken through the battery of tests and exams to prepare for the "gift" that he or she may be giving to our son and his family.  Patience is a tried virtue in our life journeys.

So, sew.... Sew! The Cherry Blossom Quilt is to look forward to Spring and his transplant completed!

I chose Fig Tree Quilts' Cherry Blossom Quilt.  Please check her blog out and scroll down to the picture of this quilt that was entered into a Charity Quilt Auction.
 I am, now, ready to piece.  It does take time to cut it all out,  but if my new camera and I can bond and download properly later, I will give you a peak on my progress.
The winter keeps Lasting and Coming as in the The Long Winter in Little House On The Prairie stories that I read to all our kids years ago. 
 We don't have snow up to our 2nd story but, last night the big ol' cabin we live in, creaked like a barn as the 30mph+ winds blew and hit it through the night.  Early morning, before daylight,  I woke to.... silence....amazing!...
.....lane drifted closed....
gotta love a hub who is healthy and able to dig us out as needed!
So, lets' celebrate together....today..... Cherry Blossoms!!! in the snow............ Blessings!!

Baby Baby

Don't you just love babies? They brighten up the world all around them! I am just here for a minute to share a lovely Lattice Baby Quilt, from Diary of a Quilter ....Love the way the white sets off each block....take a peak at her tutorial at  Moda Bake Shop Tutorial and see how simple it is to  make and also the colors she used....

Our son is better.  The Doctor thought the lumen's look pretty good today and repeated the treatment today and will probably again on Saturday.   His donor has a biopsy next week but the Doctor also shared that to have a benign tumor on a kidney is quite common.  Of course, coming from a Nephrologist who may see them is common; to us earthly travelers it sounds..well, scary.
 So, we will continue to SEW here at the cabin and pray for all the sick and others that need prayers too, and be happy to Quilt again.
 God is so very good.....and I am so thankful that you stopped by.
My camera came today and so, be on the look out for "quilting's" here at In The Sewing Basket.......(we just watched a cute movie on "birding".....)  wink

Time to call it a day.  I hope yours was Quilted in Blessings.....

Twists and Turns

Just got news from Kevin tonight,  that his live donor,who had spent months doing tests and completing them all last Friday, had

a mass found on her kidney that was going to be the donor kidney...the Doctors believe it looks like a benign tumor on the CT but they, of course, want to do a biopsy this coming week. We praise God that it was found for her sake,  and prayers need to be said asking if she wants to still go through with this, if it is benign and how Kev feels about all of it....This was not expected but Providence, just the same. Kev is blessed to have other live donors; they would have to start the tests and etc.
 Also, on Tuesday his double lumen that accesses the hemodialysis did not look normal so,  they cultured it and started treatment. But, of course, with a kidney system in failure how much treatment can his system clear.
....so they talk with the Dr tomorrow and they may have to pull the lumen's and obtain peritoneal access again for dialysis.  This is what got infected the very first week he had that placed in November and gave him peritonitis. So, naturally, he feels defeated, of course but they are glad the tumor was found on the donors kidney.
 They trust God is the Sovereign God and He will work this out....they do trust Him but when things go wrong sometimes it seems more than one  thing goes wrong.  He does have a backup donor that they had started some of the tests on.  It happens to be one of his best friends while he grew up in Ohio....so that would be ironic and a God providing again.,bringing them together "way back then"
.... I called his Dad at work at the ER so he could pray all night since he will be awake while we all sleep....We just ask for grace and knowledge and timing and faith that all things will occur as God is directing.  They have 2 little girls that have gone through this with them....precious but worried about their Daddy....and his wife is precious and faithful.....we love them beyond this world!....Thanks for praying for them.....we hope to know something soon......
and yes, we made the quilt....it is records that everyone signed at the "walk" we had for him this summer.....they use it all the time to cuddle with now.....  Quilted Blessings!