I am Still a Quilter!

I have posted so many book reviews lately, and not much else. Do you wonder if I'm still quilting? The answer is YES! I have been to a retreat and to a friend's cabin to sew, and have tried to fit in some sewing here at home as well. I have a lot of things started, and not so many finishes to show you. But I'll pull up some photos to show you a little of what's going on in my world.

a visit to a quilt shop in Montgomery, Minnesota

We dyed silk scarves at a retreat. Easy and fun, and they were all beautiful.

my scarf:

a WIP from my small group, Loose Threads... I hope I remember the details on how to finish it.

I recently went to a quilt show and took only one picture! This one was so much fun... the continents set in the shape of a chicken! Do you see the chicken? (This was made by Jennifer Rose.)

Some fall colors from northern Minnesota:

Just Some Chit Chat

I haven't just rambled, chit-chat style for a while. Now's the time.

Husband recently fixed my sewing table so it will now fit my sewing machine that I got a year ago. It's nice to have the machine sit down into the table like it's supposed to. It's handy to have a hubby who is handy.

We've been having a gorgeous fall here! Many long days of sunshine, comfortable temperatures, and blazing orange, yellow, and red trees!! I love it. I'm trying to soak it all in and memorize the colors so when gray, dreary November comes, I can be happy in my memories.

Last Saturday I went to a quilt show which was quite good - put on by Ladies of the Lake Quilters.

I have several more photos, but they're kind of hard to find on my computer at the moment, so I'm giving up.

Here's a baby quilt I made.. a couple at church is having a baby but asked that our gifts to them go instead to a shelter where there are three pregnant women. So someone in need is getting this quilt. It was fun doing an anonymous baby shower, knowing the gifts are really needed where they are going.

Here's a quilt I'm making. I can't decide if I'm finished or not. The recipient asked for a longer than normal quilt (this one is) that is "heavy" kind of like a weighted blanket. I have that figured out, I think. What I don't know is if I have made it wide enough. I am hesitating taking it to the quilter until I figure out if I'm done or if I need to add some width to it. I'm eager to get it done! I just need to make a decision. Sometimes I can be indecisive!

I just realized this photo was taken when I was in mid-construction phase. It's not even the whole quilt top!

Well, this has been a disjointed chit-chat, but that's all I have in me right now. I'm tired and it's past my bedtime. Nighty-night!

Cousins 2015

I have returned from our annual cousins gathering in northern Minnesota. As usual, it was wonderful. We read a book and discussed it, I celebrated my birthday, the fall colors were changing as we watched, the lake was beautiful. All in all, it was a lovely time.

My sister gave me a choice of cake or pie for dessert on my birthday. I chose pie. Yum!

Oops! I have some photos repeated. Oh, well.. it was THAT pretty!

Back Home, Exhausted

At my current place of employment I am lucky to be able to pick my own hours. I had chosen to work zero hours this week. The plan was to work on more items for the church bazaar, work AT the bazaar, and then enjoy a couple of days just doing my own thing.

Best laid plans....!! Turns out I was happy I had arranged zero work hours this week, because my mom landed back in the hospital, and I spent all week with her. I finally arrived back home tonight, Thursday, at about 8:00 PM. I'm tired!

Mom is out of the hospital and back in her home. She recovered from her Congestive Heart Failure episode. Her previous one was only two months ago. She will probably continuing having CHF bouts and at some point will not recover. The doctor said she is at Stage 3 Congestive Heart Failure. I didn't know it had stages, but I looked it up: there are only 4 stages. Stage 3 is described as follows: Marked limitation, symptoms with less than ordinary activities. Stage 4 is when one has symptoms while at rest. We don't know how much time Mom has.

Mom is living in a good place with good services. They will continue to monitor her condition. More services will be added, as needed. She had a long question/answer session with the unit coordinator today. She will be getting help with a few more activities, at least until she fully recovers and gets used to her new routine. I learned some things by sitting in on the session. I'm glad I was there to learn, and I am grateful I was able to take these days to help my mom.

Well, back at church, the bazaar and turkey dinner went on without me. I don't know how successful it all was. This is the first time I have missed it in many years. Luckily we had added another person to the area where I usually work; I'm sure they were fine without me there.

Fall colors are past peak, but still beautiful. Very soon all the leaves will fall off the trees. This is the sad part -- November approaching. I've always thought of November as the ugliest month. It's brown, often overcast (gray), and there's usually not much snow yet. Snow is so pretty after suffering through a month of brown, gray, and falling temps. Maybe that's why God gave us November: an ugly month after which we will celebrate the arrival of snow. Do you think so?

I was able to attend a choir concert at the local high school. The building is NEW and gorgeous. My great-niece is in the freshman class there. She is in the front row, 2nd from left. Her choir was excellent, and I was a proud great-aunt.

Now it's bedtime, back in my own bed tonight. What a lovely thought!