April Update

The BOM for May is Red Cross, http://delawarequilts.com/BOMs/RedCross

I finished another wall hanging that has been hanging on my UFO list. Lots of finishes in April, feels great. http://delawarequilts.com/UFOList.html

Six days to Relay For Life here and I am getting excited. The Delaware Quilts team is less than $300 to our $10,000 goal and I am pretty sure we will make it. If you would like to help, you may make a donation at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/MargeGordon Thank you.

Right now there is a Sp'egg'tacular Pattern Sale! on the Patterns For Relay page, ends May4th. If you haven't checked that page recently, this is a good time to look… Snail mail patterns are $5 and PDF patterns will be just $3. http://delawarequilts.com/Relay/Patterns4Relay.html

Mother Nature’s fury

Earth quakes, tsunamis and now the storms that have ravaged the south and heading north. As I am typing this I hear thunder off in the distance, and I hope we only get rain. My thoughts and prayers are with all who have lost their homes or worse, loved ones.

After, April 26, 2011

Yes it is the same place, honest! Lots of improvements. With today's market, improvements were made for us, period. Now to find a buyer who will appreciate all our work.

Before, 2005

I will post after photos later today, headed over there shortly to put the For Sale sign in the window!

Simple white curtains?

The realtor suggested we put some simple white curtains in the master bathroom to dress it up a little. So I want shopping… and if you know me you know I HATE shopping.

I went to wallyworld over the weekend and it was packed, but I found blue café curtains and a matching valance and got them. They didn’t have any white ones, but the gal was stocking and said they might be in one of the boxes. They looked ok, but were not wide enough, I need another valance to make it look good and it really needs the white between the two blue panels. Today I went back, nothing there and a different girl said she would order them.

So I checked Kmart nothing, the Mill Outlet, nothing, Home Depot, nothing and finally Lowes, nothing. There won’t be any nice looking curtains in the master bathroom, our town doesn’t sell them!

(And don’t anyone dare suggest I make them! I am not wasting my fabric on that place!)

Hoppy Easter

Beautiful day here and will be a warm one too.

No, we did not go away for the weekend, I’ve just been busy cleaning the mobile home. Well… I’ve been cleaning the trailer making it into a respectable mobile home. Let me say here, my son is not a dirty kid, he never was. He always put things away neatly, and had his things neatly arranged. Well most of the time anyway. And the trailer wasn’t messy, not at all. On the surface it was neat and tidy… man tidy. Both son and husband said the place was ready to go on the market. I took their word for it, but went to inspect anyway.

Son has lived in there since the summer of 2005. It was remodeled in 2008 and all new appliances were installed. Both bathrooms were remodeled also. I don’t think anything had been cleaned “Mom clean” since then.

I opened the microwave and there was evidence of many things having been cooked in there.... shudder... I knew then I was in trouble. The smooth top cook surface needed some spot cleaning, but otherwise was ok… that is a visible surface so it was clean. The oven… shudder no one looks in the oven… shockingly filthy. Evidence of many greasy meals and even some spilled cheese spots, well done.

People don’t look in the frig either I guess… no it wasn’t greasy in there, just one rust spot on one shelf that couldn’t be sand blasted off. But there was a smell, not bad but not nice really. And there were bottles on the refrigerator door that had expired in 08, 09 and 10… I’m hoping the smells were coming from one of them, although they were glass and plastic… do bad smells escape through those?

Moving on to the bathrooms…... The shower curtains were pulled so I knew I was in trouble there. He fooled me, not too bad. Yes it needed some Mom cleaning, and Dad had to redo the grout, but not that bad. Once it was cleaned with something other than just water it looked OK. Bleach works miracles. The sinks were ok, once I scraped off the paint drips.. how can you paint and leave drips in the showers and sinks and NOT see them? (Do not hire my son to paint in your home, just a recommendation)

No, my son is not a messy person, he is very neat… he’s just not an expert in “Mom clean”.

Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak To Hope

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGzAOBwZ7MM&NR=1
"Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak To Hope" is a 236-quilt traveling exhibit about Alzheimer's disease. It is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, a nonprofit national charity run by volunteers whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research through art.

Images in this video were taken at the Hands Across The Valley quilt show where the exhibit premiered in March 2011.

The accompanying music was performed and recorded by AAQI supporter Doug Tessler for this video.

For more information about the "Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak To Hope" exhibit please visit www.AlzQuilts.org

Any Philadelphia Phillies fans?

Our Relay For Life event is holding a silent auction this year, guess who is in charge… (I need to learn to shut my mouth and keep my hands down!) Anyway, I have put on from my team my November Stars, http://delawarequilts.com/MyQuilts/NovemberStars2.jpg


A little bit ago one of the teams just put up for auction four tickets for the Philadelphia Phillies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game on Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 1:35 PM Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA, including a parking pass! Section 115, Row 21, Seats 15-18

I can take bids on either. Send me an email at quiltersretreat@hotmail.com with your name, phone number, letting me know which item you want to bid on and your max bid. If you win, I will be calling you shortly after 9PM May 6th so you can pay. You must pay that night, on line, I will send you the payment address when I confirm your bid.

Hoarding and coupons

Am I the only one who thinks it’s strange that the same channel has two shows back to back, Hoarding, Buried Alive and Extreme Couponing? I understand hoarding, my father was a hoarder.

Couponing bothers me to extreme…. Do they not know about expiration dates? Why does a mother of one child spend buy $1000 worth of groceries a week? Yes, I know she only paid $19.95 or whatever… but does she not realize that 3/4 of what she bought has an expiration date and she will never be able to use it.

In MY opinion Extreme Couponing comes first, leading up to Hoarding.
Now I know why I don’t watch TV!

Please help me reach my goal

If you have ever read this blog before, or visited my web site, you know that I have a passion for something other than quilting, which is Relay For Life. I have been Relaying since 1999 and will keep on Relaying until someone finds the cure for cancer.

I relay for many reasons, but mostly in honor of friends who are fighting cancer, who have fought the fight and won, and sadly, for those who lost their fight too.

For the last two years the Delaware Quilts Relay For Life team has raised over $10,000 and this year we are almost there. And I am only $117 away from reaching my personal goal of $5000.

Please help me reach my personal goal. If you have ever had cancer, please donate $1. If you know someone who had cancer, please donate $1. If you know someone who died of cancer, please donate $1. If you have ever visited my web site and perhaps used one of my BOMs, please donate $1.

$1 donations can be made on my Delaware Quilts Relay page, and donations of $5 or more can be made at my ACS web page.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

More spring pictures

I love my yard in the spring... have I said that recently?

Photos are my reb bud and dog wood from the back yard. The flowering crab apple, also in the back yard. Then the brick walk (which I put down myself many many years ago) and the flowers as seen from the driveway. And last some of the front yard as seen from the street.

Sewing

I had just a little bit of work for Relay today, unfortunately. I’m looking for LOTS of work which means lots of money… but it’s slow in coming this year.

So since there wasn’t any work to do, I am sewing. I can’t show you because I might make this a mystery some time…. I’ll decide when I am finished.

Getting ahead

Think about it… isn’t it always easier to get ahead when you have help from a friend? I sure think so.

Thanks friends!

Spring

I wish spring lasted longer, or at least the spring flower would. My daffodils are all finished and looking ragged. The tulips look like they’ve been through a wind tunnel; last night’s storm really finished them. But the wild dogwoods are blooming, the pink one is just starting to open up. And the lilacs and red buds are blooming beautifully!

And my baby white lilac which was given to me last time I visited the Patchwork Angels has a bud, it’s very first. Considering that it lived in a garbage bag for two weeks, I am amazed that it is alive. I look forward to it growing up and filling my back yard with its beauty in the spring.

Another finish

Sadly it doesn't show up well in this picture, but it is a cute little baby quilt that I hope to sell at Relay. Regardless it's finished and off my UFO list.

So one off, and another one on... my Scrappy Bin quilt top which I finished the other day. It needs backing, then quilting and binding before I can call it finished, so it goes on the UFO list... and I think it needs another name too.

Senior Citizens

A friend sent me this and I thought it was worth sharing!

Senior citizens are constantly being criticized for every conceivable deficiency of the modern world, real or imaginary. We know we take responsibility for all we have done and do not blame others.

HOWEVER, upon reflection, we would like to point out that it was NOT the senior citizens who took:
The melody out of music,
The pride out of appearance,
The courtesy out of driving,
The romance out of love,
The commitment out of marriage,
The responsibility out of parenthood,
The togetherness out of the family,
The learning out of education,
The service out of patriotism,
The Golden Rule from rulers,
The nativity scene out of cities,
The civility out of behavior,
The refinement out of language,
The dedication out of employment,
The prudence out of spending,
The ambition out of achievement or
God out of government and school.

And we certainly are NOT the ones who eliminated patience and tolerance from personal relationships and interactions with others!!

And, we do understand the meaning of patriotism and remember those who have fought and died for our country. Just look at the Seniors with tears in their eyes and pride in their hearts as they stand at attention with their hand over their hearts!

YES, I'M A SENIOR CITIZEN!

I'm the life of the party...... even if it lasts until 8 p.m.

I'm very good at opening childproof caps.... with a hammer.

I'm awake many hours before my body allows me to get up.

I'm smiling all the time because I can't hear a thing you're saying.

I'm sure everything I can't find is in a safe secure place, somewhere.

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

Yes, I'm a SENIOR CITIZEN and I THINK I am having the time of my life!

Spread the laughter
Share the cheer
Let's be happy
While we're here.

Go Green - Recycle CONGRESS!!

Aaaaa Spring!

Quilting

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday Kathy, I just plum forgot to. Been busy with Relay for one thing, and for the other thing… I straightened up my sewing room. No, I didn’t clean it, it will never be clean… I just straightened up some.

I organized stuff to go in the scrap bin, squares and strips, I seem to have them all over the sewing room… now they are all in one place, I think. I guarantee you I will find more hidden somewhere. Next retreat I can grab my scrap bin and do some more sewing from there.

I straightened out my desk, it was a mess of unorganized piles. So I went through the piles, and thinned them down to two. One pile is Relay envelopes and team accounting sheets and the other is quilt magazines to go through and some of my patterns which need to be put in envelopes. It’s amazing to see desk top again.

And I went through my UFOs again to see what I could finish next. I’ve decided to quilt the two lighthouse wall hangings and maybe sell them at Relay. I have five un-quilted lighthouse wall hangings… I am only keeping two. One is smaller and I really am not in love with it, and the other two will go to a friend who wants to hand quilt them and give them as gifts to friends or family members. I’m honored she wanted to hand quilt them, sort of wish she would have volunteered to hand quilt mine too, LOL! However she made a nice donation to Relay, so many thanks for that (and the lighthouses are in the mail.)

Finished

All done with my scrappy quilt, I kind of like it, hoping I like it more after the quilter has worked her magic on it. Of course, that will have to wait, I don’t have backing.

Put a huge dent in my scrap bin, and got what is left sorted. 10 inch squares (left over from who knows what), 4 inch squares, strips, etc. All sorted and put into zip lock bags so I know where they are is I ever need them.

Now… what’s next?

Finishes!

I finished Scrappy Baby Stars last night, and this morning while John was sleeping and I needed to be quiet, I finished my Aunt Grace Any Size You Want. And I had to show them with my lovely tulips, which popped open today!

Final Week...

Scrappy Pattern Special
FIVE scrappy patterns for sale to benefit Relay For Life
Make a $10 donation on my Relay For Life web page
and I will mail you FIVE scrappy patterns. Just put Scrappy Patterns in the
"Name as you would like it to appear on the web site" section
and I will stick your patterns in the mail the next day!
Patterns are Crooked Stars, Nine Patch Variation, Simply Squares, Speedy Strips and Scrappy Gridlock

Thanks, together we will beat cancer! This offer expires April 17th

Making progress