Three Quilts Gifted...

Over Memorial weekend, Andy & I traveled to Illinois for a family visit.  On the way through Ohio we stopped at my brother's house for a visit and to deliver some quilts that I had made for three of his grown children.  

The first one was for Leah.  The embroidered top was purchased from Ebay and I added the borders and hand quilted it.

The second quilt was for Sarah.  This was a top that I started as a craftsy.com block-of-the-month, but ended up deleting a couple of their blocks that I didn't like and adding a bunch more that I found online.  It is hand quilted. 

The third quilt that I gifted in Ohio went to my nephew, Daniel.  He served our country for 4 years in the Marines just a short while ago, so I made his "Red, White, and Blue" in tribute to his service! The pattern for this one is "Blue Ridge Beauty" by Bonnie Hunter and is hand quilted, also.

I gifted one more quilt when we got to Illinois, but I will blog about that in a separate post.

All the quilts were received with much appreciation and the appropriate amount of "oooooh's and ahhhhh's"...and that does a quilter's heart good!  :)

Loretta

A Gift From a Friend...

Quote for the Day:

"There is nothing better than a friend, 

unless it is a friend with chocolate."

~Linda Grayson

A friend (and co-worker) gave me this adorable teapot that she found at the thrift store!

It has a cute little sewing machine on the lid and a quilt draping off the side of the sewing table!

Gee...I wonder why she thought of me when she saw it???  *wink wink*  

Thank you, Linda!  I love it!  

Loretta

Another Gift...

I was working on another gift...this time a baby gift...and was waiting till it had been gifted to post about it.  I got confirmation yesterday that it had been received, so I can blog about it now!  

My chiropractor and his wife are expecting their fourth child this month...a boy!  I made one of my double-sided flannel receiving blankets and matching burp cloths for the wee one.  I like to do the crocheting on these when we are on car trips because it helps to pass the time, so this one was crocheted two weeks ago when we went to Asheville, NC, on vacation!

Here's the very beautiful mama opening the gift...

Loretta

I Can Finally Share This...

Quote for the Day:

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” 

~ Mother Teresa

In February and March, I was working on a quilt as a gift for my chiropractor so I wasn't able to post anything about it.  

When I went in today for my office visit, I took it in and gifted it to him!  He was totally surprised and from his reaction, I could tell that he loved it!  

The back...the bones glow in the dark!  LOL

The label was a poem that I found online...

This quilt is machine-pieced and hand-quilted.  I had a lot of fun making it and I am so relieved that he loves it!!!

Loretta

New Quilt Project...

About 5 years ago, I purchased a hand-embroidered vintage quilt top off of Ebay.  My daughter saw it, finished some the embroidery that needed completed, and asked if I'd make it into a quilt as a wedding gift for her and Dale when they got married.  

It seems that wedding is in the works for later this year, if all goes well!  Hence...I figured I'd better get to work on it.  

It is a king-sized quilt, measuring 100" x 100".  Whew...might take me a little while!  

It is too big to get a nice picture of it in my house because I really don't have a place or bed that big to lay it out on, so I took pictures as I was loading it into the frame yesterday.  

I started hand quilting it today.  What I like about these tops is that the quilting lines are already pre-printed on them so there is no marking involved!

Like most vintage linens, there are some "storage spots" that will show up in the pictures as I post my progress.  These don't bother me because when it is all done, I will soak the whole thing in Oxi-Clean.  I do this to all of my vintage linens that have storage stains on them and I've never had any stains that not come out.  ("Storage stains" refers to the brown spots that are caused by either bugs that get up into the fabric at some time OR that come from being in contact with non-sealed wood like a cedar chest or wooden shelf.)  You can't wash the item before quilting because it will wash out the pre-printed quilting lines and you take a chance of the unfinished edges raveling.  

Loretta

Happy Birthday to ME!

Best birthday present EVER...

Today...on my birthday...day 96 of eating the Whole30 way...I hit the THIRTY POUND mark!!!

Thirty pounds and three medications gone!!!   It really is never too late to change your life!  

If it weren't for the terrible arthritis in my right knee, I'd feel like a million bucks!  I guess I still feel like a million bucks...that all have a bad knee!  LOL

(source travel.nationalgeographic.com)

Happy Birthday to ME...from ME!!!  :)

Loretta

Feeling Blessed....

Quote for the Day:

"Without health, life is not life; 

it is only a state of languor and suffering - an image of death."

~Buddha

Over the past week, I've been cleaning out the flower beds, preparing them for Spring...raking, weeding, trimming rose bushes, collecting/cleaning containers for my container garden, etc.  During this bustle of warm-weather work, I found myself amazed at the difference in my life now compared to where I've been and what I've been through.

Two short years ago I was not even able to walk out into our back yard because the unevenness of the ground would cause my back pain to flare up after just 5 minutes....and that didn't even include actually DOING any work!   At that point in my life, I truly just thought my health was going to continue the downhill slide.  I hoped to find something that would relieve my pain, but never even thought that now...2 years later...I would be in the best health that I've been in in YEARS!

With my dietary changes, continuing chiropractic care, and ongoing use of essential oils, I am now completely off of THREE medications that I had been on for years.  In two weeks, I will be getting some blood work done that will tell us if I can reduce/eliminate two more medications.   I go weeks, sometimes months, without needing any pain medicine.

I can now picture myself living many more decades...something I couldn't picture myself doing just a few short months ago.  (Part of this perception comes from losing my father when he was only 59 and mother at the age of 68.)

In the meantime, I'm able to enjoy many physical activities that I had thought were a thing of the past.   I have a list of things that I plan to get done around the house...things that have been put off for years because of my health.  And we won't even mention the list of quilts that I want to make in this lifetime!  

I'm loving every minute of my new life and I'm looking forward to what the future holds for me!

Loretta