Valentine's Day Postcards

I went shopping last week for Valentine cards for my friends and grandkids. I didn't find anything that really rocked my world--and wow!-they were expensive! It used to be (back in the dark ages when I was younger) that you would buy someone a gift and get them a nice card to attach to the present, but now the card costs so much that it could BE the gift! I'm not sure when all of this happened, but I decided that this year I was going to forgo the purchase of Valentine cards and opt to make them myself. 

I have a closet and many drawers full of scrapbooking and card making supplies, but I am never happy with what I make. The original ideas do not just flow from me when I'm using paper. Soooooooooooo..........I decided to make fabric post cards for Valentine's Day. 

If you have never made fabric postcards, they are so easy and really fun. There are NO RULES, so you can do whatever you want to!! I had some pink and red fabrics and also three pieces of non-traditional fabric. I started by cutting out 4X6" pieces of iron-on interfacing. To each piece I sewed fabric and embellishments in a sew-and-flip crazy quilt fashion. 

 

They were so much fun that I just kept making them! It was like eating potato chips-I couldn't make just one! 

With this fabric I did do a little fussy cutting to I could get the words or hearts on the postcard. I loved the ribbons and embellished with a little applique heart too.

I had the red fabric with pink envelopes and added other pink and red fabrics for these postcards. The XO ribbon was from my very abundant ribbon stash and was perfect for Valentines.

I use a little bit of tulle and sewed some red heart confetti under it for this postcard. Rickrack and an applique heart completed another card.

I had a tiny scrap of Valentine Snoopy fabric left over from Madison's quilt and had to use it on a postcard for her. The ribbon on her card reads "hugs and kisses". It's fun to add a very personal touch to a postcard.

After I finished the fronts of my postcards, I trimmed the extra fabric away so that they measured 4X6". Then I cut cardboard the same size, layered the two and zigzagged around the outside edge. On the cardboard, I drew a line down the center and 4 lines on the right side for the address. Make sure you leave room for a stamp at the top. I bought heart stamps at the post office and mailed my 12 fabric postcards yesterday. I know my grandkids and friends are going to enjoy their Valentine surprises. 

Happy Quilting, 

Grammy

Wristlets

I love making a little something for my grandkids at Christmas and this year I decided to make the "big girls" each a wristlet. They were so fun and easy to make-I didn't even have a pattern! I chose fabric for each girl that I thought they would like. In one afternoon I made six! I put a small surprise inside each one.....

They were a hit!

Grammy

Split Decision Quilt

My sister-in-law, Claudia, has watched and waited patiently as I have made quilt after quilt and given them to family members. I have made quilts for each new baby, a quilt for my niece (her daughter) for her college graduation, and throw quilts for each of my kids and their spouses to cuddle under when they watch television. About ten years ago I made quilts for my in-laws (Claudia's parents) for Christmas.  I was not ignoring my sister-in-law. She is so kind and generous and a total sweetheart and definitely "quilt worthy". It just seemed like each time I thought about making her a quilt, something else happened and she got pushed to the back of the line again. I didn't realize how badly she wanted a quilt until she told her new son-in-law at a family function that he had to "get in line behind me" when he said he guesses it's his turn for the next quilt. Everyone laughed, but I knew then that she really wanted a quilt!

Even though my wrist was still bothering me with swelling, pain, and difficulty gripping, nothing was going to keep me from making Claudia a quilt for Christmas this year. But I decided that I would make it as easy as possible and make a quilt using pre-cuts.  I had two jelly rolls I had purchased several years ago. It was a nice soft color palette and I knew it would make a beautiful quilt for Claudia. I chose a pattern called Split Decision-a "Hip to Strip" Jelly Roll pattern.

This quilt went together like a dream! The cutting was so simple and the blocks were so easy to make. I made more blocks than the quilt called for because I only had one fabric for a border and I wanted the quilt to be a good size.

On my design wall-the colors of the fabrics here 

are much brighter than in reality.

Claudia was pretty happy on Christmas morning to get her new quilt and she let me take some pictures of her with it a few weeks later.

Merry Christmas, Claudia. I'm sorry your quilt was so long in the making. I hope it was worth the wait :)

Christmas Sewing

Once I got my cast off, I had a lot of catching up to do! It had been months since I had been able to do anything in my quilt room. Now the holidays were approaching and I had things to do!! I didn't go to physical therapy after I got my cast off-the dr. said that I needed to just jump back in and use my hand. The problem was pain and swelling. It lasted for weeks and was really getting me down. I was able to eat with my right hand, but I still couldn't hold a pen, much alone a rotary cutter. I was so frustrated. So I decided to start off slowly.

My daughter, Melissa, wanted to make matching pajamas for her kids and all their cousins to wear for Christmas. I thought it sounded like a fun idea and I volunteered to help her. I bought yards and yards of flannel fabric and matching red T-shirts. I packed my serger and off I went to spend the day with her. 

We had the best time! She was cutting out all the pants and I was sewing them up almost as quickly as she could cut. Then she threaded the elastic through the waistbands and presto-pronto--we had made eight pairs of pajama pants in under five hours!! I left the shirts with Melissa-she had decided to applique their initials on them. 

A few days later all the grandkids came to our house to decorate their Christmas tree. We also baked Christmas cookies, ate pizza and had a quick photo session. I knew that Christmas day would be a chaos of toys, wrapping paper and ribbon and that I would never get them all together for a picture....

All the girls gathered in front of the Christmas tree and lots and lots of pictures were taken, but Ollie was having nothing to do with it. You see, he's two. Enough said.

So, we moved to the stairs and plopped Ollie into the picture. Even a Christmas cookie bribe didn't make him any happier. But I still love the picture and I sent it out in my Christmas cards. 

I think their pajamas came out really cute--we may have to make this an annual tradition. 

I hope your holidays were happy too! 

Grammy

Meet Gabrielle

Wow! It's now been more than four months since my last post. And it's been a very busy four months too. 

About three weeks after I broke my arm, my son, Matthew fell from a ladder and broke his arm too! He also had two hairline fractures in his pelvis and one on his tailbone. He was in a LOT of pain. We posed for a picture together-we tried to find a little humor in the situation.

When this pic was taken Matthew and his wife, Elise, were expecting a baby---any day now! Matthew couldn't walk at all and when they went to the hospital exactly one week after his accident he was the one that needed to be pushed down the hall in a wheelchair. But babies have their own timelines and agendas and they don't care if it's convenient for you or not-they arrive when they are good and ready. With that said........

Meet Gabrielle. She was born October 12, 2014 (That's 10/12/14!) and is the latest bit of perfection and joy in our lives. She is grandbaby #8 and granddaughter #7 and she is a bundle of deliciousness. :) 

Gabby is just a few minutes old 

She looks so happy to be here

I was so happy to get to the hospital and meet her!

Sooo sweet!

She started growing up way too fast-

and look at all that hair!!

Before I knew it Christmas was upon us. I'm so glad that Gabby and her parents were here to spend it with us.

At three months those smiles are melting hearts every where she goes.

Hugs and Kisses, Gabby. I love you!

Grammy

I'm Broken :(

Just as I got back into the swing of things-quilting and blogging on a regular basis, catching up on projects, and finishing my last block for our swap this year-life threw me a HUGE curve ball. 

I walk our dog, Molly, two miles twice a day-morning and evening. On the evening of September 4 we were out for our stroll as darkness was approaching. I decided that I could get home faster, wear the dog out some, and maybe lose some weight if we ran (ok, jogged) instead of walked. We were doing great until that millisecond where Molly decided to dart between my legs from behind. I never saw it coming. One second I was running down the street and the next I was flat on my face in the road. The first thought that came to mind was "Help, I've fallen and can't get up!" As I lay there, I began to assess my situation. My left cheek was on fire-there was blood and pain, but I didn't think it was broken. I could see lots of swelling in my right arm-definitely broken! My right knee was burning too, but didn't feel any worse than some bad road rash. I has scrapes on both hands, my glasses were laying broken, about 10" away from my face, and I could see my cell phone, laying just beyond my reach. 

Thank goodness I had my cell phone with me! I was able to wiggle my right arm enough to pull it closer. And then I saw-the crystal had been shattered in my fall. I prayed it would still work and after about 15 attempts to put in my lock code with a very shaky hand, my phone finally opened. It worked and I quickly called my husband. He said I sounded really calm when I told him what had happened. He immediately jumped in the car and came for me. By now it was pitch dark out and there I was-laying on the side of the road, looking like the victim of a hit and run! Thank goodness Molly stayed by me. She was very concerned about me and even though she is terribly afraid of cars, she didn't leave my side as our car approached. 

After spending all night in the ER, having X-rays of my arm and a cat scan of my head, we were finally back home at 5:00am. But there is no rest for the weary-we needed to be at the orthopedic hand specialist at 7:45. I took a bath and shampooed the sand and gravel out of my hair (using only my left hand, since the right one was in a splint) while my husband walked the dog, fed her breakfast and showered. 

As luck would have it, I broke the head of my radius at an angle and it had to be surgically repaired with a plate and screws in order to heal. But, that surgery wasn't going to happen until Tuesday. They replaced my splint with a more comfortable one and sent me home with pain medications for the next three days. Tuesday morning I reported in and after a short outpatient surgery was sent home in a third splint. 

Two weeks have now passed since the surgery and yesterday I had a follow up dr. visit. My sutures were removed, I got to wash my arm, and I got a cast on. I found out that I also have a small fracture in my ulna too! If I'm going to break something, I'm going to do it all the way!

My family and friends have been my salvation. My sweet husband has been by my side every minute, attending to my every need. My daughters have prepared meals and friends have also sent dinners, books, gifts and get well cards. I have felt spoiled! 

My biggest frustration---I have all this time on my hands and I can't sew! I'm right handed and this has totally incapacitated me! I have written thank you notes with my left hand and my first grade granddaughter has better handwriting than me! I can eat with my left hand, but my husband has to cut up my food for me. :)  I have passed the days reading books and watching TV. I had done some one-armed laundry folding and loaded a few dishes in the dishwasher, but I'm pretty much worthless. The next four weeks can't go by fast enough! But then, I'm going to have 4-6 weeks of physical therapy. I hope to be back to my old self by Thanksgiving. 

A British Quilt Show with Tisha

One of my dearest and most favorite people in the world is my "friend from across the pond", Katisha-or Tisha, as we all call her. Those of us who are friends with her love her wacky sense of humor and her infectious laugh. 

Tisha and I met five and a half years ago on a online quilting board. Our friendship started because of a sale of fat quarters at my local quilt shop. I posted a picture of my great bargain and offered to shop for others. Tisha took me up on it-and the rest is history. We began to chat in a private chat room on the quilt board, then we emailed back and forth and eventually we began to Skype. In October 2010, Tisha and her friend, Avis, flew to Texas and met up with me and my peeps (Anne, Pam, and Karen) for the Houston Quilt Show!! It was awesome! We all had a fabulous time. And when it was over, Tisha and Avis flew back to GA with me and stayed at my house for a whole week. We did lots of sightseeing and shopped the area quilt shops. 

We had fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, GA. (This is where the movie was filmed)

That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Tisha has been back to visit me every Fall since. I have taken her to eat hot dogs at the ballpark, to Jekyll Island for a stroll on the beach and to Jacksonville, FL for a quilt show. 

Tisha has become a big baseball fan-or rather a Braves baseball fan. She has been to two games and had a great time learning all about the game, eating ballpark food and people watching. 

We have been to SC to visit Anne and spent a fabulous day together in Charleston. We have been to Maryland and stayed with Pam's daughter, Melissa, for a girlfriend get-together. We have been to Lancaster County, PA and visited Amish land and all the wonderful quilt shops. 

We have made so many great memories, have had so many belly laughs and have shared so many ups and downs. We have been through the heartbreak of losing a parent, the joy of new grandbabies, and the pain of a divorce. Yes, my friend from across the pond is a treasure, a true blue friend, a sweet, thoughtful, darling person and we are all so fortunate to have her in our lives. 

Tisha lives all the way across the pond in England, in Stapleford, Nottingham (the home of Robin Hood) with her two dogs, Harriett and Hamish and her cat, Oscar. 

 

She's an avid gardener and has a very green thumb. Even though her yard is small, it is such a peaceful place with all of her beautiful plants and flowers.

Tisha's other passion is quilting. She has been sewing for a long time, but started quilting in the last 6 years or so. She is very lucky to have been gifted a free-arm featherweight by a friend who didn't want it! Obviously, she didn't know what a gem she had on her hands!!

Tisha has sewn countless miles on this machine. And I'm sure she will sew many more. 

Last Friday Tisha and Avis attended the Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate. Tisha took lots of pictures and shared some of them with me. I hope you enjoy these. 

I love this quilt! And I'm so glad that Tisha sent a close up of it too. It's made with 1930s fabrics. :)

This quilt won best of show. The quilting (the two pictures below) is beautiful!

My favorite quilt that Tisha sent a picture of is this one. Being a "scrappy girl", this quilt makes my heart sing. The pattern is called Going Buggy and is from the quilt book Miss Rosie's Spice of Life Quilts. I think this quilt may have to go on my quilting bucket list! 

That is all of the pictures that Tisha sent from the show. And as the sun was setting, she wished me sweet dreams from across the pond.

Happy quilting to all and to all a good night. 

Grammy