End of the month

Yes, it’s the end of September… where has this year gone?  Anyway, that means it is update time. 

This month I’m sharing pictures of quilts I made in 2006 and among them are my Crooked Stars.  How they came about was interesting, at least to me. 

My BOMs (Blocks Of the Month) for 2006 were all stars and I got emails almost every month from quilters asking me how they could make my blocks and not lose the star points.  I personally didn’t have occasionally had that problem so I decided to make a pattern where it didn’t matter if you lost your star points or not.   

I had this pile of black and white “scraps” which were truthfully miss-cuts from another project, (Always read directions carefully) so I decided to use them to make my sample block.  The first one came out great and so did the second and so on… I just kept making stars until I ran out of B&W scraps.  And here’s the result. 

Then I realized I hadn’t taken any pictures of my process, so I had to make a second sample, so I made this using some RW&B scraps.  They were smaller scraps, so I got a smaller star and sample, but I loved it! 

So for this month I’m sharing my Crooked Stars pattern.  Have fun and don’t stress if you lose your points!

 

Relay For Life

On Friday night we ventured alllll the way south to Salisbury MD to the Shorebirds Stadium, otherwise called Arthur Perdue Stadium for the Wicomico Relay For Life. I felt unfilled at my first event this year and needed some more Relay Spirit and boy did I get it!   I felt that each person wanted to be there for the right reason, either to remember someone they had lost, honor someone who had beat cancer, or to fight back against it.

The survivors were duly recognized and walked a victory lap, followed by teams of caregivers, and then many many relayers. 

The luminaria ceremony was moving, although in the crowds of campsites and people they kind of got lost and it was hard to see them all at once, but boy did they light up the sky.  I saw some old friends, made many new friends and except for the cold enjoyed the evening.  I hated leaving, but my body couldn’t take anymore.  We will go back!

It’s official

Like it or not, it’s official.  I just successfully signed up for Medicare…. Sigh….
I hate admitting I’m old but I guess there’s no hiding it anymore. 

I’m getting ready

The first retreat of the three fall retreats starts in just a little over a month and I’m starting to get ready for it.  My first job in this getting ready process is making some goodie bags.  But not just any goodie bags, these will be trick or treat bags for Halloween.  Now let me tell you, I dislike Halloween, I always have.  Not sure why but I do.  However I tolerate it, especially at the retreats…those retreaters have a way of making everything fun! 

I sure hope the ladies appreciate all the hard (note sarcasm) work I am doing preparing for them! 

What have I been doing?

Truthfully, nothing, nothing at all.  Well I did the usual, laundry, house work, eat, sleep and design a new mystery.  But otherwise nothing much really. 

I did go to my Relay meeting last night, which was great.   I saw the passion and enthusiasm that I was looking for, saw a few old friends and made a few new ones.  I am really looking forward to the actual event now, IF the weather cooperates.

Honestly, I about froze to death last night, and it wasn’t even really that cold.  I am shocked at how my body reacts to cold these days.  At one point I felt like someone had shoved an ice rod up my back and the pain was unbelievable.  I got up and walked it off, warming up a bit just by moving around.  It helped, even if I probably did look strange getting up and walking around during a meeting….

Now, what kind of fun can I get into today?

Ever get the feeling you're being watched?

Changes

I’ve had cats most of my adult life, with a few years kittyless due to moves and babies, etc.  When we lost Fluffer I said no more, my heart can’t take losing another kitty. 

A few years ago we kitty sat for our grandkitty Mufasa.  Let’s just say that while we loved him, he sure was not like any other kitty we’d ever had.  Mufasa was a climber and had to get into everything, and I do mean everything.  But as much trouble as he was, I kind of missed him when he went home to Maryland with Mike and Kelly.

BUT.. I said no more.  I didn’t miss the kitty litter (not what’s in it, the litter itself, I hate the smell of the “clay”.  I didn’t miss the cat hairs.  I didn’t miss the noises that go bump, thump and even rumble in the middle of the night.  And I really didn’t miss the cat hairs.

But… oh yes you know where this is going…  Aunt Sheryl can no longer take care of her kitties, I’m not even sure she knows she has kitties anymore since her hip break on Labor Day.  And now we’ve been told she can not move back into her room at the home, but will be staying at the healthcare facility the rest of her life.  John has been cleaning litter and feeding the cats for over a year now, as well as brushing them and giving them the loving they need.  Sheryl acknowledged them some, but that faded more and more and now….

Well there were two, but one of the CNA’s at the home fell in love with Abby and took her home last week.  Poor KG has been all alone except for nightly visits from John and me.  We’ve tried to find him a home but no luck.  So tonight he came home with us.  He’s a good kitty….

I think…

I hope… 

Time will tell

Changes

Some big changes happening here, small but big… stay tuned.

Remembering

There are a few times you will remember where you were when… for my generation it is where we were when Kennedy was assassinated.  I was sitting at a table in study hall.  I was a freshman in high school.  Across from me was a senior football player, big tough guy.  I watched him fall apart, crying openly at the news.  Now it is the attacks on our country on September 11th.  I was at home alone, John was at work and the boys were in school.  It was the loneliest I can remember ever being. 

Area 52

I’ve had several requests for the pattern for Area52.  I will gladly sell the pattern to anyone who wants it for a $6 donation to my Relay For Life at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/MargeGordon 

Someone also asked why I called it Area 52… hopefully this will explain that!

20th Relay For Life

Most of my “friends” know that for the last 15+ years I have participated in Relay For Life.  Three weeks from tonight I will be walking at my 20th Relay and am really looking forward to it.  I want to thank ALL of my supporters, family and friends and those of you who I have never had the privilege of giving a hug in person for all of your support and encouragement in my fundraising efforts.  Together we WILL find the cure for cancer!
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/MargeGordon

Couple of busy days

Late Monday Aunt Sheryl fell and broke her hip.  Surgery was on Wednesday and today she is being transferred to a health care facility.  Sadly she is not cooperating with the physical therapists which will make her recovery all that more difficult.  Monday will be her 84th birthday but she probably doesn’t remember that, there is little she does remember any more. 

Tuesday John happened to mention to me that his truck was acting funny and Wednesday he informed me that I wouldn’t have a car anymore because he was afraid to drive his truck at all.  For months I’d been telling him as soon as mine was paid for I wanted to get him a more gas friendly vehicle… well that had to come sooner than we expected. 

Now you know men, they need a truck, so we had to have a long “discussion” as to if he should trade it in or just get it fixed and only use it for hauling.  He won, LOL.  He is now the proud owner of a brand new 2013 Escape.  The truck is in the shop and will be repaired when we can afford to get it fixed. 

Wednesday while waiting to hear about Sheryl’s surgery I finished quilt #497, a brightly colored Strings quilt for Bob’s Blankie Brigade.  And yesterday while I was cleaning the machine, something I do after every second bobbin change, I realized my cone of thread was almost empty.  When I reached for a full bobbin I found that my wound bobbin supply was gone.  That means I’ve used 100 bobbins and 3000 yards of thread since the November retreat last year… that’s a lot of thread!
 

Readers

For my friend Susan who asked about Readers…  Google used to have a Google Reader where you could make a list of all of the blogs you enjoy reading, and read them all in the same place.  Google dropped their reader, and lots of us blog readers scrambled to find new places to put our lists. 

A reader is much nicer than bookmarks.  With the reader you can actually read the whole blog of all the blogs you want to read in one space.  Kind of like a newspaper, you can open up and read the news you want to all in the same place.  You don’t have to click on a bookmark, it’s already there for you to see. 

Some bloggers have shortened versions of their blogs only, which is a setting that that blogger sets up on his or her site.  Those blogs you have to go to directly to read the whole thing.  (I find a lot of the bloggers who have it set up that way have ads that pay them for readers, which is why they want you to go to their site to read them, it’s the only way they get paid.) 

I’ve been using http://www.netvibes.com/ but want more organization in my blogs than it allows (or than I can figure out how to do, LOL!)  So I thought I’d ask what other bloggers are using and give a few different ones a try. 

I guess that’s like getting more than one newspaper which is kind of ironic, we don’t get any newspapers here at home. 

Blog readers

I’m thinking of trying another blog reader, one I can organize better.  Any suggestions?
Thanks

Mystery solved

I did not make the two quilts that Bob’s gave me credit for, but they were donated at last fall’s retreats.  And after an email I found out who donated them, my friend Anne.  So I am back to working on quilt #497, a strings quilt for Bob’s, trying to decide what #498 and #499 will be, and gathering strips for #500. 

Adding to my numbers

A few days ago I posted about my numbers.  I am so looking forward to quilt #500, a milestone in my long quilting life.  I knew my count was a guesstimate but was pretty sure I had them all counted.  Today my friend Helaine posted pictures of two quilts that she says I donated… I recognize the fabric but I don’t remember making them. 






And if they are mine that means that the quilt I am making now, a strings quilt for Helaine as a matter of fact, IS quilt #500.  Wow. 

PS, I am not changing my count until I am positive these are mine... so if they are not mine, someone please tell me!  I'm happy with  my count regardless.