3 years

Somehow, time does not stand still when we want it to, does it? I absolutely hate that. It has now been 3 years since Dad passed away. He was young, only 63. It was sudden, he had an enlarged heart. We didn't know.

Merle Lee Thompson
October 12, 1994 - October 30, 2007

I am happy that the last time I saw him, I told him that I loved him. He said "Me too". That was what he always said. I can still hear his voice, saying that.

I have his desk. I love sitting here. He spent alot of time at this desk, it was in "his room", his library and he would sit every night at this desk and read. He was a real history buff.

I have his belt buckle. He was always a "cowboy boots and buckle" kind of guy. He loved eagles. (Jim does too, I love that about him.)

This is Lisenby. He has a nice view. I used to find cemeterys scary. Now, I find great comfort here. It is so peaceful, a small country cemetery. Jim and I bought a spot just a few rows over from Dad, this past summer. I find comfort in that, too.

I miss my Dad. I know he would not want me to be sad. But I can't help it. I love you, Dad. I can almost hear him say "Me, too".

hexagons and hot pads... :o)

I've been working on the little 1/2" pink hexagons in the evenings, and finally have them all put together! This measures a little over 15" on each side. (Click on it for a larger picture!)
Here is a picture of it with a yard-stick over it, to show you the over-all size... (And Jimmy's toes!) There are approximately 815 little 1/2" hexagons in here. So there are about 60+ pieces left over, but that's not enough to make another round.

Now to take out all the little papers. Any advice there? I don't know if I should take out a bit and then starch it, so the seams on the back stay down nice...?! Any advice would be great! I've never made anything with this many hexagons before!

The other project I've been working on is these hot pads for Christmas gifts... They're the kind that you stick your thumb in the little pocket on the "skinny end" and your fingers in the other pocket. They have insulbright in them to make them insulated... This picture shows each side...

And this picture shows them hanging on the fridge. (Our brand new refrigerator, by the way! See how nice and shiny it is!) There are magnets in the "thumb end" so you can hang them on the refrigerator or stove... :o)

I may have a Christmas give away in November, with a set of these included... :o)

Nellie's Star

I had been ooh-ing and aah-ing over this Nellie's Star pattern, ever since I first saw it in the Sept/Oct 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting. I have always wanted to make a Lone Star quilt, and fell in love with these fabrics. I love this vintage look! They offered a kit, but by the time I'd saved my pennies, it was out of stock! Pout!
Stitchin' Heaven to the rescue! No affiliation, but they had a GREAT sale a few weeks ago! Buy 7 yards, get 7 yards free! So it was cheaper for me to buy full yards of each fabric that I needed, than to buy the (say) 5/8 yard, etc, of each fabric at full price... And now I will have some left over for my stash! Yeah! And check out the cute sticker on the box:

Of course it was fun to open! Just look at these fabrics:

Here's some more:

I'm in love... :o) Of course, this quilt has to wait until I get further on that green wedding ring quilt that I am making, but oh, I can look at these fabrics all day long... :o)

P.S. This fabric line is called "June's Backyard" by Clothworks, in case you love it as much as I do... :o)

Christmas Mystery Block of the Month

Here is the October BOM from the 2010 Designer Mystery Block of the Month from Fat Quarter Shop... This one is called Peppermint Pinwheels... :o)

Another fun, easy one... :o) Thanks for visiting! :o)

October 12th

Today would be my Dad's 66th birthday. I miss him so much. My kids miss their Grandpa too. We don't have nearly enough pictures of my Dad, he was not fond of the camera... :o) But I wanted to share a few pictures of him with my kids...

This is when the trio were just a few months old, January of 1998. That's Elizabeth, David (with the darkest hair) and then little Anna... I loved how he could hold all three of them at once. :o)

This is my Mom and Dad, at our apartment, Christmas 2003. The trio would have been 6 years old here. Once again, Elizabeth, David, then Anna...

And here is Grandpa and Grandma with Jimmy, January 2007. Jimmy was just a week old here. Dad passed away before Jimmy turned one, so this is one of the very few pictures of Grandpa with Jimmy.

I love you, Dad. Happy Birthday. I miss you desperately. I am glad my kids knew how much you loved them.

pumpkins

I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween (numerous reasons!), but here are the kids pumpkins that we carved today... :o) That's Anna, Elizabeth, Jimmy and then David... :o) As you can see, the leaves are falling fast around here. It was nice to have them home from school today, time seems to be going too fast...

Christmas Cottages...

Here is a picture of all my Christmas cottages that I got done this week, 20 in all. You may recognize some of the fabrics from some of my other recent Christmas projects. :o)
These houses are so fun and EASY! The tutorial for them can be found HERE.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!

another "Scruffily" quilt

I made another *Scruffily* quilt ("recipe" from Moda Bake Shop), from the same *Nostalgia* fabric line, this time for my Mom. Her birthday is this Saturday, done just in time... :o) Click on the picture, to see the "scruffily" parts... :o)

The only thing that bothers me, is that the backing shrunk up more than the front, so it doesn't lay flat now that it's been washed.

This is the same quilt that I made my dear friend, Laurie -- you can read about it HERE. It is a really fun quilt to put together... :o)