A teacup pincushion swap sent........

A couple of weeks before my mother arrived, I participated in a "Teacup Pincushion Swap" in a Yahoo group that I belong to. Our challenge was to use a teacup and create a pincushion from it and also include a totebag (purchased or sewn), along with some goodies. My partner Susanne from Australia said she liked blue and so I went in search of a blue teacup. This turned out to be a difficult task. It never occurred to me that blue would be so hard to find. I found lots of teacups with pink roses and pretty yellow ones but the delicate blue china teacup I could see in my mind never came to be. Finally, at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop I found one with some blue on it and here's what I made........
I had some tea-colored fabric that I used to make a fabric ball and then stuffed it for the pincushion. I added a little floral piece to represent a dollop of cream and then a pretty bow and a doily from another thrift shop completed the teacup pincushion that I sent off to Susanne.

I wanted to make a totebag for her but time became an issue because I wasn't feeling well and my mother's visit was coming up so I was busy with that. I sent along a purchased totebag and then added lots of goodies.....woolfelt bundles and a tin filled with yards of pretty trims so that Susanne can make more pincushions. In my search for a blue teacup, I found a couple of other treasures in blue that she can use for a pincushion or whatever she wants. I was surprised to find pins with button heads at JoAnn fabrics and sent a pack of them along to her. And the Dollar store yielded the notebook and the little Teatime Treats book. Of course, I had to include a fat quarter of sewing themed fabric. :-) Susanne enjoyed all the goodies I sent and I enjoyed what she sent me. It arrived just a couple of days before I left to go to Iowa to get my mother. Wait til you see what Susanne sent. I'm going to share photos of all the pink goodness that she made for me and I can tell you right now that she spoiled me!! She is awesomely talented and I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened the box filled with so many pretties. I will take photos tomorrow and share in my next post.

In the meantime, here are a couple of photos from places my mother and I visited when she was here. This photo was taken in the community of Arlington, MN and is a park area near the hospital. The flags were still on display as this was the day after Memorial Day.

Surrounding the helicopter are bronze statues of men in the various branches of the U.S. Military. As my mother noted.....they almost looked real. It was quite impressive.
Just west of Arlington, is the community of Gaylord (our county seat) where we spotted this pretty view.

We were just driving up and down streets looking at houses, when we came into a park that is at the north end of the town and a small lake. There we saw this pretty gazebo/band shelter and the most lovely view of the lake. My thought when I saw this ........ it's amazing what one finds in their "own backyard" when visitors come and you take them sightseeing! I had no idea that little lake was there so I've decided I have to wander around streets in the little towns I pass through more often and see what treasure I can find! Tomorrow, along with Susanne's pincushion goodies, I'm going to share another little hidden treasure that is in the town to the south of us.

I'm hoping for a little sun today. Weather has been a wee bit rainy and gloomy which I don't usually mind but this is summer so I'm hoping for sun!

Sandi

"What's on the line?"

Today is Flag Day here in the U.S. so I had to hang something patriotic on the line.............


This is a small quilt that I made in June of 2000 . It's one of those twelve quilts that I made to celebrate the Millennium. Each month of that year, I made a quilt to celebrate a holiday or special occasion. I chose to make a quilt in honor of Flag Day for June (go here for info on Flag Day). It was also my dad's birthday so I made the quilt in honor of him. And now, it is a memory quilt as he passed away a little over two years ago. He would have been 84 this year. I still miss him dearly. It was shortly after he passed away that I began blogging. It helped me to think and often got me through periods of grief because having to create a post and share photos gave me some purpose. It is hard to believe that I have been blogging for two years. My blogging anniversary came and went recently (May 26, 2008) because I was busy preparing for my mother to come to visit. It had been almost twelve years since she had been up here to visit us. Health issues for her and my dad overwhelmed their lives in those years but she is doing well now and as you all know from the last three posts, she had a great time during her visit. There was a moment shortly after she arrived when she looked around the house and spoke the thought that I was thinking ...."it's just too bad that your dad isn't here to see this". He would have liked the house and would have had questions about how this or that was constructed. He would have loved the backyard and the deer that come through and the birds that sing in the morning. And he would have enjoyed visiting the grandkids and great grandson, Jacob. Yes, I wished, too, that he could be with us. But if he couldn't be here, I know that he was happy that my mother could be. He was always making sure "Ma was happy". :-)

So, this day is a day to celebrate our nation's flag and, for me, it's a day to remember my dad and his birthday. And what about you, my readers and followers? You've stayed with me when I've had "ups and downs" this past two years and you keep stopping by. I appreciate each and every one of you. The time has come to celebrate because I not only reached two years of blogging recently but I also surpassed 500 posts and over 250 followers. So, if you regularly read my blog or are a follower, please stay tuned for I'm going to host a giveaway to celebrate these milestones. I think I'll probably post it on June 21, the day of the Summer Solstice here in the U.S. It would be a good day to celebrate. I might even celebrate all the way up to July 4th. You just never know. :-)

That's all for now. Hope your week is off to a good start. Have a great day!
Sandi

Four Generations

Today, I'll be taking my mother home but last night there was one last celebration......dinner at Country Buffet, a treat from daughter Collette. And, when we were done eating way more than we should have (do I love a buffet? yes, I do!), Daryl, Collette's hubby took this four generation picture..............we are.........
My grandson, Jacob on the left sitting next to his mom, Collette, my daughter. Then it's me and my mother, Mary. This past Sunday, we drove into the cities to visit my son, Devlin so here's a three generation picture......me, my mother and Devlin. :-)

My mother has had a good time, but as it always is with vacation........it is good to get home so she is packed and ready to return to Iowa. I'll stay a couple days and then...........next week, I'll get back to quilting and stitching.......and catching up on my Yahoo groups and blogging!!! I've been doing a little bit of stitching on a project that I can't show you but in a couple months, I'll be able to post about it and share the fun. :-)

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some fun with this photo.............

My mom and I were looking through some old photos I had in a box and this one was too cute. I remember those dolls that we are holding. They were "walking" dolls and we played with them a lot! I love the look on my sister, Judy's face. Way too cute. :-)

I'll be back in a few days. Have a good weekend!

Sandi

What's on the line?

I tried to post this last night but kept getting a "blogger is currently not available" message and only now, late this afternoon, am I finally able to share "what's on the line". This is a special quilt block that my mother made. Since she's here visiting, I thought I would share something that she had made. She has always loved Sunbonnet Sue and this is a block she made sometime in the late 1950's/early 1960's..........
And, of course, there's a story behind the block. There were actually 18 more blocks that she made but she sold them to a sewing group in Evanston, Iowa that made the blocks into a quilt. She loved the blocks but said that she sold them at a time when extra cash was needed. It would be so neat to someday meet that quilt but who knows where it might be now. I keep thinking I will make this into a pillow but I might do it as a small wallhanging instead so that it will have "longer life".

My mom is enjoying her visit. We have been to almost every thrift shop in a 25 mile radius, plus we've visited our daughter and family in Mankato and our son and girlfriend in Minneapolis. We've had some good meals and seen lots of pretty sites and taken lots of pictures. I'll have plenty to share when I get back to regular blogging next week. :-)

Have a good week!

Sandi

Thank You! and pics of a great day!

My goodness! What a surprise to see all those good wishes for a Happy Birthday yesterday. Thanks to each of you that commented..........Caryl W., Barb, Lois G., Gene B., Pat C., Joanne, Luv2quilt2, Pat, Diane, Crispy, Laurie, Nancy, Happy Cottage Quilter, NanaKaren, SarahVee, Knitwit, Kaye, Needled Mom, Pat, Beth, Owl Lady, Stormy Days, Barbara, Nanette, Mary on Lake Pulaski, Joanna, Judy C., Lynn-Teacupstitches, Rhonda, Robin, and Grandmarockton! And especially thanks to Pat at A Little of This and a Little of That because she sent a lot of you over here to send me those good wishes. What a sweet thing to do!! The comments were the icing on the cake of a really nice day. Proof that we had a good time is here.............
This is my daughter, Collette, and my mother, Mary. We have just eaten our lunch at The Pizza Ranch.....my choice, we loved everything. :-) Then here I am..............

all smiles........because we are enjoying ourselves so much and Collette has just given me this pretty gift bag. So what was in the bag..............

Pretty little sundae dishes that Collette found at a thrift store, plus some Mary E. scrapbook embellishment items and a lovely old Record book. Her mother-in-law, Connie, found the book and knew I would like it. It is the handwritten journal of a pastor 's sermon outlines. There is no name of who this book might have belonged to. The only clue is on the first page where the pastor writes..........

Vol.II, Sermon Outlines, preached in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Sermon 51, Evening Text Dec. 4, 1887, Heb. 4, 15. Theme: The Sympathy of Christ for men.

The last entry was made on page 219 of the journal .......

Sermon 88, April 8th, 1888, Morning Text, Matt. 18, 1. Theme: Humility.

I'll share more on this little journal in another post as it is quite fascinating. It's not everyone who has a great mother-in-law (mine was, her name was Ora), but when your daughter has a great mother-in-law that thinks of her son's mother-in-law, well, I think that's pretty cool. :-)

So anyway, after we ate lunch, we spent almost an hour wandering around in Hancock Fabrics. My mom hadn't been in a fabric store (other than Walmart) in more than five years. I can guarantee you we had fun and enjoyed finding some treasures in the fabric and decorating items. Then we picked up Jacob at school and we made a stop at the Salvation Army thrift shop where we found more little goodies, plus they had a bag of books (kid's titles) for $5 so Jacob and I had fun picking titles for him and some cousins. :-) The only thing I missed was taking that four generation photo that Pat mentioned and there is still time to do that in the next few days. Thanks everyone for those birthday wishes. What a treat!

I'll be back when I have time.........

Sandi

June Angel!

This month, Audrey the Angel is tending her garden. In April, she planted her seeds of friendship and now she can harvest the joy from those friendships. She's also planted a vegetable garden and is tending the plants so they grow and become ripe. Then she'll reap the harvest come fall. Friendship is the same thing...plant the seeds of kindness and friendship and then reap the joy that friendship brings! Have fun with this design!

My mother and I will be off to Mankato today to meet daughter, Collette, for lunch. It's my birthday, so we are planning some serious fun. :-) After school, Jacob, my grandson, will join us for some more fun. It should be a good, good day. :-)

More later........

Sandi

Welcome June!

I can't believe that the month of June has arrived! May flew by so quickly that many things I wanted to get done, simply did not get done. I'm feeling better and thank goodness, because I was able to go home to Iowa and visit my mother. And.......she's come back with me for a visit. She'll be here for at least a week or so and have several things planned to keep us busy. This morning we are headed out to a couple of thrift shops and then lunch. I may not post often in the next few days but I'll be taking photos so when I do post, you can see how much fun we're having. :-) Lovely weather here in Minnesota. Hope it's nice where you all are! Have a lovely day!
Sandi