Shirley Anne’s Heart

It is amazing how much fun that can be squeezed into a three-day weekend! 

Here are some highlights…..

Grandangel Vincent had his 8th birthday in California (we sang to him on the telephone.)  He was SUPER-SIZED excited!

My Great Nephew and Great Niece celebrated their birthdays in Kansas….Preston is now 3 and Tara Lynn is 1.   Birthdays are so much fun!  We should all get this excited over balloons!

Sarah and I went to a yard sale early Saturday morning…..and was that ever TOO MUCH FUN!  We actually made it home on foot - without a wheelbarrow!  Sarah was really excited over her butterfly bulletin board - still in its original wrappings!

The FIND of the day (week? year? century?) was a chenille bedspread in A-1 shape that had belonged to the grandmother of the yard sale hostess….and she sold it for $1.00.  ONE DOLLAR.  Now what am I going to do with it?   I could make little rabbits out of it…..or use it as a back to a quilt?  HM…..I have no clue what I will do with it, I just know that I have always wanted one and that I love it!  Here it is on my bed.

Since Sarah and I found a candy making machine at the yard sale - we just HAD TO MAKE CHOCOLATE CANDY.  whoo hooo!  Leanna looks like a “mad scientist” pumping the chocolate into the molds!

Grandangel, Sarah was SO EXCITED.  We finished her first CAT QUILT over the weekend.  I showed her how to tape the backing down and then add the batting and quilt top.  Here is Sarah pinning the layers together! 

Then she chose decorative stitches for her quilting!  She loves my Brother Duetta sewing machine…..she put a different decorative stitch on each line of quilting!  You can tell by the look on her face that she is totally thrilled with this project!  We cut around the edges with pinking shears (I figured traditional binding might be a stretch.) 

Sarah’s WEBKINZ CAT, “Meredith,” seems to like her new quilt!

Our holiday also included a barbecue with friends.  Oh, did I mention that Spiderman and Darth Vader attended our party?

And going to the opening of the swimming pool is a must on MEMORIAL DAY….hm…..except that everyone else had the same idea……so the pool party ended up in our back yard with a new slip and slide and ring sprinkler.  I think that ended up to be way more fun anyway!

Sliding, hula hoop fun, backyard baseball games, croquette games, popsicles, pizza, and water gun fights……it doesn’t get much better than this!  Now if ONLY I could have had some HOME MADE ICE CREAM…..then I would have thought that I had died and gone to heaven!

This is the view LOOKING UP from our backyard hammock (REALLY!)  I just had to post this - the sky was so pretty and the weather was perfect!

AND WHAT DID I SEW?

Quilting - well - I did get a start on my Step 5 of the ORANGE CRUSH and the PINEAPPLE CRUSH…..and yes, I CHANGED THE ACCENT COLOR AGAIN on the Pineapple Crush - this is the THIRD and final change - because now the blocks are partially completed!  LOL

TA DA….Here is Step 5 - Album Block of my PINEAPPLE CRUSH MYSTERY QUILT  (I like this.)

And here is my Step 5 Album Block for the Orange Crush Mystery Quilt  (yikes - I wonder if I will ever in a million years grow to like these colors?)  This may be my FIRST AND LAST time to go scrappy (of  the everything but the kitchen sink variety!)

I am not trying to guess what the MYSTERY QUILTS will look like - but I added the previous blocks in a little arrangement - just to CONVINCE MYSELF that I might like it….::)

Pineapple Crush..Step 4 Spinning Stars with Step 5 Album Blocks……it is pretty calm and subdued and my accent color (the red plaid) is similar to the red check……but…….I really think that  I am going to like this one!

And now for the Orange Crush - Step 4 Spinning Stars Blocks with Step 5 Album Blocks…..oh dear, this sure is BRIGHT…..I may need to wear sunglasses to work on this one!  Do I like this?

THANKS TO THE FOLKS IN THE MILITARY!

It has been a nice holiday …. and I have enjoyed watching some of the special programs on the HISTORY CHANNEL the past few days that have called my attention to the wonderful heroes, past and present, that have and are serving in the military.  I am grateful and am in awe at some of the stories of bravery and valor.  Since I am related somehow to Robert E. Lee, I was especially interested in the special program that featured Lee and Stonewall Jackson!

And now….back to the REAL WORLD…..how many of us will think that Tuesday is Monday all day tomorrow!  :)  Happy 13th Anniversary to Christi and Greg May 27!  Here is a SILLY family picture……and like I always say, “A MERRY HEART DOETH GOOD LIKE MEDICINE.” (Just for the record, this isn’t my original saying!”) 

Tags: Orange Crush Quilt, Pineapple Crush Mystery Quilt, SAO's Family, SAO's Grandangels, Sarah's First Cat Quilt by drsao
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Here is my follow up report on the fate of my HEART HEAT BUDDY anniversary gift to Max.

Max loved it……he even CREATED a fake need for using it.  It smelled so good warming in the microwave and it stayed warm for quite awhile.  Now I need to make myself one, my daughter wants one, and my parents need one too!   A new quiltville friend, Amanda, from the UK suggested using a small scented one for migraines (sounds good to me.)  I am going to try to find both a lavendar and a rosemary plant so that I can dry them and then add to the rice - both of those aromas are fantabulous - oh yes, and in addition to the cinnamon, I must try cloves too! 

What have I gotten myself into!!!!  A simple little anniversary REVERSE APPLIQUE anniversary gift and now I am PLANNING an array of multi-fragranced HEAT BUDDIES.   Now I will have quilt UFOs, HEAT BUDDY UFOs, and I am TRYING TO IGNORE the knitting UFOs lurking behind closed doors…..I think I have 3 sweaters and one afghan in various stages of completion, and a couple of crocheted rag rugs……..oh yes, and my scrapbooking UFOs for the grandangels pictures……..yes, I will have plenty to do for fun this summer.

Who said UFOs were a BAD THING anyway?  I am going to declare it a sign of enhanced intelligence and creativity.  I should do some research.  I wonder if there is a correlation between number of UFOs and fantastic personalities.  (I am starting to convince EVEN MYSELF!  LOL)

Ok - so back to our 20th anniversary.  :)  My daughter took a picture of us - and she got a close up of my new anniversary earrings….I LOVE hoops and the sparkly diamond chips in them aren’t bad either!

We had dinner at the HOT TAMALE and the dessert was the best part…..Max had flan and I had fried ice cream - the best that I have ever had….the ice cream was covered with coconut, chocolate syrup and was sitting on a fried flour tortilla sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

Fried ICE CREAM (or any kind of ice cream, for that matter) is on my LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS!

Here we are enjoying dinner!

I hope I didn’t gain 20 pounds at dinner tonight - but then I just had a few bites of each of those desserts and Max took care of the rest…..and even if I did gain 20 lbs, it was worth it!  Life is too short not to celebrate once in while!  I try to celebrate daily!!!!!

Tags: Life Comments, My Favorite Things by drsao
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Ever since I saw a featured quilt artist (can’t remember who) on Alex Anderson’s program “SIMPLY QUILTS” I have been wanting to try the technique of REVERSE APPLIQUE. 

Last year, I even bought a book on how to do it (where else, at the Quilter’s Corner.)

May 22, 2008 is my 20th wedding anniversary so I decided to make Max something this year…..and that something is a Raggedy Reverse Applique Heart Heat Buddy.  Here is the front of it.  I think he will like it since his favorite color is blue.  It seems like a good size  -12 1/2″ square (because that is the size of my OMNIGRID ruler….LOL)

Here is the back of the Heat Buddy…..

I decided to let the edges rough up and ravel naturally.

The front of the Heat Buddy has a top layer of the blue cotton fabric….under that a layer of blue t-shirt cotton material and then finally a layer of the red striped fabric.

I stitched a heart shape through all three layers of fabric and then cut away the heart through the top two layers (the light blue and the blue t-shirt material) so that only the red shows as a heart shape!

Then I added another layer of cotton quilt batting QUILTED to another layer of the light blue fabric.

The bottom of the Heat Buddy has one layer of blue t-shirt cotton material under the outside layer of the blue cotton material.  (That makes six layers total .)

Then I just stitched about 3/4 inches inside the outside edges with a decorative blanket stitch…..and…..

Now here is the GOOD PART. 

INSIDE it is filled with uncooked white rice dusted with LOTS of ground cinnamon.  It smells so good.  After I sewed up the STUFFING HOLE, I put the HEAT BUDDY into the microwave for two minutes and then put it on my shoulders…..oh my, did it ever feel AND smell wonderful.

I am not sure if it is washable or not….I would guess it is - the fabric is cotton and you can wash rice (the cinnamon might wash out and turn everything brown?)  Or…..I guess it can be used until it needs to be replaced!

I HOPE HE LIKES IT - OR - MAYBE I HOPE HE DOESN’T LIKE IT (then I am sure I could FORCE myself to use it whether I need to or not!)  It was fun to make!  Goodness, even if I never used it, I would love to just smell it. 

Maybe I will make myself a rice/cinnamon pin cushion

(I wonder if cinnamon would corrode pins?)

Tags: Heat Buddy by drsao
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Monday, May 19, my grandangel in California, CHASE,  turned 17 and he did a great job on his S.A.T.s  He is still a bit young to vote, but he has made his political choice with gusto.

Monday was a big day of celebration!

Also on Monday, I was  the substitute teacher for grandangel, Sarah’s second grade class.  Does Sarah look happy with her little Webkinz mouse on her head?

Usually, at the end of the year the children are EXTREMELY excited and not prone to listening - so grandangel, Leanna, made me a puppet and we named her MS. TOODLES.

I went to school armed with two bags of candy (rewards for only the very best behavior) and I placed Ms. Toodles on the blackboard with a magnetic clamp.  She watched the children so that she could decide who would get candy at the end of the day.  I then taught the children how to be LOUD in SIGN LANGUAGE and how to say WOW, WAY TO GO, and I taught them how to say “close your mouth, please” in French.  They loved it!  I also taught them the BRAIN DANCE - to get the wiggles out and to relax them at various points during the day.

You may not have heard of it (since I made it up!) So if you are a teacher or a sub (or a regular “normal” person LOL) - you may want to try this little brain break

(exercise and relaxation - and laughter - deliver oxygen to the brain!)

B   breathe in to the count of four and then out to the count of four

R   raise up on your toes to the count of four twice

A   raise your arms up to the count of four and then down to the count of four

I   imitate a smile (facial smile excercises) to the count of four - twice

N   nod the head IN SLOW MO….very gently - front - left - back - right - repeat

We had an absolutely WONDERFUL AND UNUSUALLY PEACEFUL DAY!  Ms. Toodles was proud to present candy to every single child in the class.  Who would have thought that such model behavior could result from a bag lady with candy! 

I had such a GOOD DAY with those second graders (although I must say that it was a humbling experience when we talked about PAST vs PRESENT times and the kids didn’t know what a record player or a typewriter was!  When I asked them how they thought a person could correct a mistake on a typewriter - one child said, ‘It must have a DELETE button!”  These are children of the computer age for sure!)

And Tuesday, May 20, my grandangel Cooper graduated from preschool…..and Grandma Shirley cried because all of the little children were so cute!  They walked in, sang several songs and then were presented with their graduation certificates while the teacher announced what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Cooper’s aspiration is to be a STAR WARS JEDI!

Quilting…..a day without quilting is like a day without chocolate!

I am so excited about my progress with my Grandmother’s Flower Garden….I am LOVING it and find it very relaxing to do the handwork.  My friend, Sheddy, taught me a new and improved way to paper piece (not sewing through the paper but making a little stitch at each line intersection through the fabric only - but still folded around the paper template.)  I love learning new things and I am getting faster and faster….

Here is a close up of a completed flower….I love these 30’s fabrics!

And this is what I have sewn together!  (This is addictive!!!)

You are probably supposed to sew these together in a more systematic way

- but for now, it works!

AND….I just finished the Quilter’s Corner Block of the Month blocks from civil war reproduction fabrics…I was SO PLEASED (and amazed) that my points came out relatively well!

I love these blocks so much - I have made two for April and two for May!

I also sewed the binding on two quilts and pieced a quilt back today….WHOO HOO!

And that is NOT ALL!  Today my daughter and I got  pedicures compliments of my husband for Mother’s Day.  Christi may just FAINT when she sees her feet published in a mother-daughter pose!  But, oh well, silliness is good for the soul!

On the way to get our pedicures we HAD to stop for Starbucks and at Barnes and Noble I got another James Patterson book.  HONEYMOON.

I have only read the first 71 pages - it is wonderful so far - and guess who is NOT going to sleep tonight!  There are not enough locks on the doors for me to sleep tonight!

I can tell that this is going to be a good week -

look what fun I’ve had in only the first two days!

Tags: Book Recommendation, Life Comments, Quilter's Corners BOM Quilt, SAO's Grandangels by drsao
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